
Class 

Book 

Copyright}! - 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 




CHRIST CHURCH 



CHRONICLES 



OF 



Christ Church Parish 

WILLIAMSPORT, PA. 

I 840 -I 896 



BY 

The Rev. Edward Henry Eckel, B. D. 

Rector 1896-1905 



PUBLISHED BY DIRECTION OF 

THE VESTRY OF CHRIST CHURCH 

AND 

Brought Down to April, 1910 

The Seventieth Anniversary of the First Episcopal Church 
Service held in Williamsport 



WILLIAMSPORT, PA.: 

Press of Gazette and Bulletin 

1910 






Copyright 1910 

By the Rector, Churchwardens and 

Vestrymen of Christ Church 

WlLLIAMSPORT 



'CI.A275558 



FOREWORD. 



V 



During the summer of the present year a Committee, 
consisting of the Rector, the Wardens, and such others as they 
might associate with themselves in the undertaking, was ap- 
pointed by the Vestry to publish, under the editorial super- 
vision of the Registrar of the Parish, Mr. O. R. Howard 
Thomson, the "Chronicles of Christ Church Parish," pre- 
sented, in manuscript, to the corporation by the Rev. Edward 
Henry Eckel, some time rector of the parish. 

As the manuscript carried the history of the parish no 
farther than the commencement of the rectorship of Mr. 
Eckel, the Committee was instructed to continue the narrative 
to the present time. For the chapter covering the rectorship 
of Mr. Eckel the Committee is indebted to Miss Mary Smythe ; 
that dealing with the rectorship of Mr. Jones has been con- 
tributed by the Registrar. With the exception of these addi- 
tional chapters, a number of historical and biographical notes, 
inserted by the Registrar, and indicated by the abbreviation 
"Ed.," and the insertion of matter relating to the parish's his- 
tory subsequent to 1896, the "Chronicles" are printed exactly 
as written by Mr. Eckel. 

The Registrar desires to acknowledge the kindness of 
many members of the parish in furnishing information and 
answering questions, and particularly that of Miss Mary 
Elizabeth Crocker, in the tedious work of reading proofs, and 
in many other ways. 

November, 1910. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



Most of the following historical sketch of Christ Church 
Parish, Williamsport, was written while I was yet rector of 
the parish, and is now completed when I am far from the 
records, documents, journals, and persons whom I would 
wish most to consult in order to give to its last pages the 
verification of data and accuracy of statement which I have 
aimed to secure throughout. I have the satisfaction of feel- 
ing, however, that where I am perhaps most liable to error, 
the mistakes and omissions can the more easily be corrected 
by parishioners familiar with the later history of the parish. 

I may say frankly that it has been no easy task to> prepare 
this little work, because it has involved the careful study of 
an extensive, fragmentary and largely ephemeral literature. 

I have been greatly indebted to the late Mrs. E. N. 
Lightner, of Danville, widow of the first rector, who most 
generously presented me with her husband's file of Diocesan 
Journals extending from 1839 to within a few years of my 
own time. This file I was able to complete from other sources, 
and upon leaving the Diocese I gave it as a ''permanent loan" 
to the Diocese of Harrisburg. It is now in the custody of 
the Registrar of the Diocese. 

I am also under very great obligation to the late Mr. J. J. 
Crocker, whose notes from the minutes of the Vestry from 
1841 to 1896 have been of invaluable service to me. 

When near the end of my task, as I supposed, my own 
small, broken file of the parish papers published by two of 
my predecessors was splendidly reinforced by the fuller files 
collected, through appeals in the current "Christ Church Mes- 
senger," by Miss Mary Elizabeth Crocker for the local collec- 
tion of The James V. Brown Library, of Williamsport. The 



vi Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

accession of this large mass of material necessitated a careful 
study of the new data, with the result of filling out the sketch 
to much larger proportions for the periods covered, and the 
rewriting of portions of the history already passed. This ad- 
ditional work, while it has given greater completeness to the 
narrative, has at the same time delayed its completion. 

These three, then, have been my chief sources of infor- 
mation, but I have been obliged to consult other documents 
and persons, and at every step to compare and verify state- 
ments, calculate figures, and make deductions according to 
the best judgment that I could command. In giving the 
dates of the beginning and ending of rectorships I have in 
some instances been obliged to adopt the date of record, which 
may vary by a few days or weeks from the actual date, of 
which no record can be found. 

The most difficult portion of the history for me to treat 
was that of the earliest years of the parish, when it was feeble, 
when rectorships were short, and records comparatively mea- 
gre. Yet to this period of the history I feel that I have been 
able to give a completeness which may possibly be lacking in 
some other parts, but which, if extended to the last quarter 
of a century, would have swelled this sketch to the dimen- 
sions of a much larger volume. Especially did I feel the im- 
possibility of doing full justice to the subject when I came to 
the rectorship of Dr. Hopkins. As his was the longest rec- 
torship in the history of the parish, so also, by reason of his 
versatile abilities and wonderful activity, was it the most 
eventful and most fruitful period of parochial development. 
The story of those years, with anything like an adequate esti- 
mate of the man himself, would be sufficient for a volume in 
itself. I need scarcely add that, while a few allusions to 
names and dates subsequent to the beginning of my own rec- 
torship will be found, I have not deemed it proper to attempt 
any account or estimate of the work of that period. 

I must be permitted to add that I can never cease to be 
thankful to the Divine Head of the Church for permitting 
me the privilege and happiness of serving Him and the 



Prefatory Note vii 

Church for several years as rector of a parish with such a 
long and creditable record for zeal and good works ; and it 
is, therefore, with a heart full of appreciation and gratitude 
that I dedicate this history of their parish to the dear people 
of Christ Church Parish, Williamsport, whom I shall never 
cease to love and admire as my friends and fellow-workers 
for the glory of God and the bringing in of His kingdom. 

Edward Henry Eckel. 

Conversion of St. Paul, 1910. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Page 

Foreword iii 

Prefatory Note v 

List of Illustrations xi 

Seventy Years Ago, 1840 1 

Mr. Lightner's Rectorship, 1840-1842 7 

Two Short Rectorships, 1842- 1844 13 

Mr. Clark's Rectorship, 1846-185 1 17 

Three More Short Rectorships, 1851-1855 21 

Mr. Moore's Rectorship, 1855-1865 2y 

Mr. Wadleigh's Rectorship, 1866- 1869 31 

Dr. Paret's Rectorship, 1869-1876 39 

Dr. Hopkins's Rectorship, 1876- 1887 49 

Mr. Graff's Rectorship, 1888-1896 61 

Mr. Eckel's Rectorship, 1896-1905 71 

Mr. Jones's Rectorship, 1905 — 89 

Summary Notes — 

The Parish Paper 105 

The Bishops of the Diocese 109 

List of the Clergy in 

Lay-Officers and Prominent Lay- Workers 113 

Choir and Music 121 

The Money Problem 129 

Wadleigh (St. Mary's) Chapel 135 

St. John's Chapel 139 

Gifts, Memorials and Thankofrerings 143 

The Parish in xALrchdeaconry and Diocese 153 

Concluding Words 155 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Christ Church Frontispiece 

The Rev. Edwin Nathaniel Lightner To face page 7 

The Rev. John Baker Clemson 13' 

The Rev. Thomas Coffin Yarnall 15 

The Rev. William James Clark 17 

The Rev. John Henry Black 21 

The Rev. Edward Purdon Wright 22' 

The Rev. Richard Channing Moore 27 

The Rev. Albra Wadleigh 31 

The Rt. Rev. William Paret 39 

Christ Church : Interior 40 

The Rev. John Henry Hopkins 49 

The Rev. William Henry Graff 61 

The Rev. Edward Henry Eckel 71 

Mrs. Eliza Anna Christman, Deaconess 74 

The Rev. William Northey Jones 89 

Christ Church Parish House: Auditorium 91 

Christ Church Parish House : Interiors 93 

Christ Church Parish House : Interiors 95 

St. John's Chapel : Interior 97 

Vestrymen of Christ Church 113 

Vestrymen of Christ Church 115 

Vestrymen of Christ Church 117 

Wadleigh (St. Mary's) Chapel 135 ' 

St. John's Chapel 139 - 



Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

WILLIAMSPORT, PA. 



One soweth, and another reapeth. . . . Others have laboured, 
and ye are entered into their labour. — St. John iv. 38. 



SEVENTY YEARS AGO. 
1840. 



The Genesis of the Parish — The First Entry in the 
Parish Register. 

The services of the Episcopal Church were held in Wil- 
liamsport for the first time in April, 1840, by the Rev. Edwin 
Nathaniel Lightner, Rector of St. James's Church, Muncy, 
who continued coming thereafter every fortnight for some- 
what more than two years. The borough of Williamsport can 
hardly be considered as offering at that time a promising field 
for the efforts of a Church missionary. Mr. Lightner, in his 
report to the Bishop in 1843, writes : "When I commenced 
to officiate in Williamsport, the remark was made by one of 
the elders of a certain sect that I had no business there, as 
there was but one Churchman in the place, and that the 
ground was occupied ; that is, was theirs by right of posses- 
sion." 1 

1 In Meginness' "History of Lycoming County," p. 397, the num- 
ber of communicants in the borough in 1840 is given as three. The dif- 
ference is probably due to the fact that the secular historian included 
persons who, though unconfirmed, were interested in the Episcopal 
Church. As noted later, the Eucharist was administered on July 
27, 1841, to nine persons, three of whom had not at that time re- 
ceived the rite of confirmation. The "History of Lycoming County," 
published by D. J. Stewart, Phila., 1876, also credits the borough 
with three communicants in 1840, and gives their names as "Francis 



2 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Let us endeavor, in a few sentences, to gain a mental 
vision of the Williamsport of that distant day. The population 
of the borough 1 in 1840 numbered 1,353 souls. 2 Imagine this 
borough as a straggling village built up mostly of low 
frame dwellings. Ten years before the time we have in mind 
the borough, after an organized existence of twenty-four years, 
could boast only ten buildings of brick, including the Court 
House, and we can scarcely suppose the number to have greatly 
increased within the next decade. None of the buildings were 
taller than two stories. Not only were the streets unpaved, but 
there were few sidewalks laid, and pedestrians had to make 
their way as best they could. Academy Street was the eastern 
limit of the borough, and West Street, as its name indicates, 
marked its western boundary ; while "the forest primeval" ex- 
tended to where the railroad now crosses East Third Street. 
Pine Street ran as far as "the Ross graveyard" (the present 
site of the City Hall), and all beyond this was fields and tim- 
ber. Only two small places of worship, both as yet in an un- 
finished condition, stood within this area — the Pine Street 
Methodist Church, of brick, and the stone church of the Ger- 
man Reformed congregation 3 where now the Reno Post head- 
quarters are. The Presbyterians met for worship in the Court 
House, and there also our services were held, except on occa- 
sions when the Reformed congregation generously allowed us 
the use of their building. 

Campbell, Esq., Lester Griswold and wife." The records show Mr. 
Campbell was not confirmed till the latter part of 1841, and that 
Judge Maynard and Judge Lewis were not baptized till 1843. Pos- 
sibly Meginness took his information from the Stewart history. 
[Ed.] 

lThe borough of Williamsport was incorporated March 1, 1806; 
it became a city June 15, 1866. [Ed.] 

2 According to the Rev. Dr. Yarnall, rector in 1843-4, the town 
in his day "did not claim more than 1,200 inhabitants." 

3 Built conjointly by the Lutheran and Reformed denominations. 
In 1866 the walls were torn down, the rebuilding of the structure 
being completed in 1868. The Lutherans sold their interests to 
the Reformed Church members about 1860, and in 1895 the building 
was purchased by the G. A. R. Post. [Ed.] 



Seventy Years Ago 3 

The initial entry by the Rev. Mr. Lightner in the first 
Parish Register, an ordinary small quarto blank book, de- 
serves transcription in its entirety. It reads as follows : 

"Christ Church, Williamsport, was organized on the 
evening of the 8th of February. 1841. F. C. Campbell, 
Esq., 1 and the Hon. Ellis Lewis 2 were elected Wardens ; 

lFrancis C. Campbell was born at York, Pa., April 18, 1787. He 
graduated from Dickinson College, studied law with David Watts, 
of Carlisle, and was admitted to the bar August, 1810. He moved 
to Williamsport April, 1812, and in 1816 married Jane Hepburn, 
daughter of James Hepburn, of Northumberland. After being in 
active practice for fifty years he retired. His death occurred April 
21, 1867. 

Mr. Campbell was a member of the original Vestry of 1841 and 
served, with the exception of the years 1853 and 1854, till his 
death; he was Vestry's Warden 1841-1853, and Rector's Warden 
1855-1867. Shortly after his death a window to his memory and 
that of his wife was placed in the church by their children. His 
daughter Caroline became the bride of the Rev. John Henry Black 
while the latter was rector of the parish. [Ed.] 

2 The Hon. Ellis Lewis was born at Lewisberry, York County, 
Pa., May 16, 1798. He was apprenticed in 1814 to learn the trade 
of printer with John Wyeth, at Harrisburg, but ran away. In 1819 
or 1820 he was in Williamsport, associated with J. K. Torbert, in 
the publication of the "Lycoming Gazette," a predecessor of the 
present "Gazette and Bulletin." He read law with Espy Van Horn 
and was admitted to the bar September 2, 1822. In 1829 he located 
in Wellsboro and became prosecuting attorney for Tioga County. 
From there he moved to Towanda, and in 1832 was sent to the 
lower house of the State Legislature. In January, 1833, he became 
Attorney General of Pennsylvania; and in October of the same 
year he was commissioned President Judge of the district composed 
of the counties of Lycoming, Northumberland, Union and Columbia, 
taking up his residence in Williamsport. After serving ten years 
he was appointed President Judge of the Lancaster district (Janu- 
ary, 1843). In October, 1851, he was elevated to the Supreme 
Bench, and on November 17, 1854, became Chief Justice, which po- 
sition he retained until November 17, 1857. He declined a re- 
nomination and retired to private life. 

Judge Lewis was the author of "Abridgment of the Criminal 
Law of the United States" and a frequent contributor to periodical 
literature. During his early years he had studied medicine and was 



4 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

and J. W. Maynard, Esq., Dr. Thos. Vastine, Oliver Wat- 
son, Esq., John Hutchens, Dr. Henry Shoemaker, Lester 
Griswold, 1 and Hopewell Cox, Esq., were chosen vestry- 
men." 

Measures were then adopted to ensure the speedy erec- 
tion of a Protestant Episcopal church in the borough of 
Williamsport. 

These measures were successful, and now, this first day 
of January, 1842, the church edifice is tending fast to- 
ward completion. 

The congregation is as yet but small, though gradually 
increasing, and strong hopes we have that it will con- 
tinue to grow and strengthen until "the little one shall 
become a thousand." 

The people of Williamsport had always been accus- 
tomed to the extemporary mode of worship, and therefore 
it cost considerable effort to introduce the beautiful ser- 
vices of the Episcopal Church, and it was not until the 
present writer had been well nigh discouraged that the 
effort was crowned with success. 

God be thanked that He has seen proper to bless our 
undertaking, and may He answer our humble prayer that 

the recipient of the honorary degree of M. D., from the Philadelphia 
College of Medicine. He also received the degree of LL. D. from 
Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky., and Jefferson College, 
Cannonsburg, Pa. His death occurred in Philadelphia March 19, 
1871. 

In 1826 (or 1827) he married Miss Wallis, daughter of Joseph 
J. Wallis, of Williamsport, by whom he had two sons and one 
daughter. 

Judge Lewis was a member of the original Vestry of Christ 
Church and was appointed Rector's Warden. Owing to the fact 
that minutes of the Vestry were not kept till 1852, at which time 
he was not a member, it is uncertain how many years he served. 
A window to his memory, a gift of his daughter, Mrs. A. L. Wiley, 
was presented to the church in 1892. [Ed.] 

1 Lester Griswold was born in Connecticut in 1793, and passed 
his boyhood and young manhood with his uncle, the Rt. Rev. Alex- 
ander Viets Griswold, the first bishop of the Eastern Diocese, the 



Seventy Years Ago 5 

the church soon to be completed may be to many a wan- 
dering- soul the very gate to heaven. 

Edwin N. Lightner. 
January 1st, 1842." 

The church building here referred to was the brick struc- 
ture still standing on East Third Street, next the rectory, be- 
tween Academy and Basin Streets, and now occupied by the 
German Emmanuel Lutheran congregation. 

territory of which was co-extensive with the New England States, 
exclusive of Connecticut. 

Mr. Griswold moved to Williamsport shortly before the forma- 
tion of Christ Church Parish and engaged in the lumber industry; 
he also had extensive real estate interests. His death occurred 
January 9, 1867. 

In 1823 he .married Clarissa A. Cummings, of Litchfield County, 
Conn., who survived him, and by whom he had a daughter, Eliza- 
beth Collins, whose daughter, Mrs. Cyrus Heller, is a faithful mem- 
ber of the parish. 

Mr. Griswold was a member of the original Vestry of Christ 
Church and was annually re-elected till his death in 1867. He was 
Rector's Warden from the time of the Hon. Ellis Lewis to 1854, and 
Vestry's Warden from 1854 to 1867. [Ed.] 



==l 




fa. 




THE REV. EDWIN NATHANIEL LIGHTNER 
Rector 1840-1842 



MR. LIGHTNER'S RECTORSHIP. 

1840-1842. 



The Building of the Church — The First Administra- 
tion of the Holy Communion. 

When Mr. Lightner 1 first began to visit Williamsport, he 
was yet in deacon's orders (having been admitted thereto July 
14, 1839, after graduation at the General Theological Sem- 
inary, New York), but he was advanced to the priesthood on 
the 1 8th of May, 1841. In addition to his visits here, Mr. 
Lightner also held services at Jersey Shore and Lock Haven. 

The interesting old register, from which the transcript in 
the previous chapter was made, then goes on to give several 
initial records of official acts from which we gather the fol- 
lowing : 

The Rev. Edwin N. Lightner, of Muncy, is said to have 
assumed missionary charge of Williamsport on April 1st, 1840. 
Until the congregation was organized in February, 1841, as 
noted above, Mr. Lightner's ministerial acts were recorded in 
the Parish Register of St. James's Church, Muncy. The first 
entry to appear in our own books is that of a burial. On the 

iThe Rev. Edwin Nathaniel Lightner, M. A., one of the best 
known of the early Pennsylvania missionaries, was born in Lan- 
caster County, Pa., Oct. 16, 1817. He graduated from Kenyon Col- 
lege, Gambier, Ohio, in 1836, and from the General Theological 
Seminary in 1839. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Onderdonk, 
in Christ Church, Leacock, July 14, 1839, and was advanced to the 
priesthood May 18, 1841. 

In October, 1839, he took charge of St. James's, Muncy, Pa., but 
ill health compelled him to return to his father's house that winter. 
In the spring of 1840, however, he returned to Muncy, where he 
soon became active in parish work, holding services in many of the 
surrounding towns where the Church was little, or not at all known, 
notably Williamsport and Jersey Shore. After the erection of Christ 

7 



8 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

27th of June, 1 84 1, Mira H., second daughter of J. W. May- 
nard, Esq., (afterwards Judge Maynard) was buried in "the 
general burying ground." Immediately following this is the 
record of a baptism on the same day, when the wife and daugh- 
ter of the Hon. Ellis Lewis received the sacrament of the new 
birth in the German Church, F. C. Campbell, Esq., standing as 
sponsor or witness. 

A month later, on the 27th of July, the Holy Communion 
was administered to nine persons. "This," according to the 
record, "was the first time the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper 
was administered in Williamsport according to the rites of the 
Episcopal Church." In fifteen months, then, the number of 
communicants had increased from one to nine. We are in- 
terested to know who they were that knelt here so long ago to 
receive the Body and Blood of Christ. They were F. C. Camp- 
bell, Esq., Joseph K. Frederick, Lester Griswold, 1 Mrs. J. W. 

Church, Williamsport, Mr. Lightner resigned his charge of it, in 
order that the parish might secure a clergyman who could devote 
more of his time to its advancement. In July, 1844, he took charge 
of Christ Church (Swedes'), Upper Merion, Pa., where he remained 
till February, 1854. While at Swedes' Church he held services 
(1846-1848) in Conshohocken, in a small school-house. These were 
the first services of the Church ever held in that place. Some time 
later he held services in the school-house in Bridgeport, and also 
in a school-house in Lower Merion. 

On February 22, 1855, Mr. Lightner became rector of Christ 
Church, Danville, and continued in charge of that church till April, 
1871, when his failing health caused him to resign. He retired to 
Riverside, a village on the Susquehanna across from Danville, 
where, with the exception of a few years passed in Muncy, he re- 
sided till his death, on Trinity Sunday, 1881. 

In Hotchkin's "Country Clergy of Pennsylvania," from which 
the above is extracted, the contributor of the article on Mr. Light- 
ner, Mrs. Lightner, points out that her statements were obtained 
from notes made on Mr. Lightner's sermons, and that they differ 
somewhat from the previously accepted accounts of the early his- 
tory of the Church in Conshohocken and Bridgeport. [Ed.] 

1 Grandfather of Mrs. Cyrus Heller, one of our most faithful and 
active communicants at the present time. 



Mr. Lightner' s Rectorship 9 

Maynard, 1 Mrs. M. C. Houston, Mrs. Anna Virchaux, Miss 
Juliet H. Lewis, 2 Mrs. Dr. Shoemaker, and Mrs. Mary Butler 
(colored). It is quite evident, however, that at least three of 
these communicants were admitted to the sacrament because 
they were "ready and desirous of being- confirmed" rather than 
already recipients of the gift of that apostolic ordinance, for it 
was not until the 6th of the following September, some six 
weeks later, that the Right Rev. H. U. Onderclonk, Bishop of 
Pennsylvania, visited the parish, and in the German Church 
confirmed the following class of five persons : F. C. Camp- 
bell, Esq., M,rs. Ellis Lewis, Mrs. J. W. Maynard, Miss Juliet 
H. Lewis, and Miss Elizabeth Griswold. The next day the 
Bishop and Mr. Lightner visited Jersey Shore, where one per- 
son was baptized and three confirmed. 

The Holy Communion was administered on Christmas 
Day to ten persons, and the register notes the addition of five 
names to the communicant list of the parish, namely, Mrs. 
Ellis Lewis, Mrs. Elizabeth Wallis, Mrs. Lester Griswold, and 
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Newton Arms. 

In the meantime the erection of the church building had 
been going forward, and on June 12th, 1842, the first Christ 
Church, Williamsport, was consecrated by Bishop Onderdonk. 
The occasion was made still further memorable by the ad- 
vancement of two deacons to the holy order of priesthood, 
namely, the Rev. George Watson, of Towanda, and the Rev. 
W. S. Walker, of Sunbury, who were presented by the Rev. 
Mr. Lightner and the Rev. Mr. Natt, of Bellefonte. 

On the next day, June 13th, the Rev. Mr. Lightner, having 
advised the Vestry to procure at once the "whole time and 
exertions of a zealous and active minister of the Gospel," re- 
signed his connection with the parish. 3 

It is impossible to accord this faithful and earnest priest 
too much credit for his zealous and successful labors to estab- 

1 Mother of Mrs. Henry Rawle, now identified with Trinity 
Parish. 

2 Afterwards Mrs. James Campbell. 

3 The following letter from the Bishop of Oregon to the Rev, 



io Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

lish the Church in this community. When he first came to 
hold services in Williamsport he found only one person who 
was said to be a Churchman, and from him Mr. Lightner re- 
ceived only discouragement in his proposed attempt to intro- 
duce the services of the Church. Not deterred by this indif- 
ference, he continued to visit the borough regularly every 

Mr. Graff, at the time of the semi-centennial, is of special interest 
at this point: 

Diocese of Oregon, Bishopcroft, 

Portland, Ore., March 12, 1891. 
The Rev. W. H. Graff: 

Dear Sir: Some one — not of Williamsport, I think — has kindly 
sent me a copy of the Williamsport "Republican," containing an 
account in advance of your "semi-centennial" services. Knowing 
something personally of the small beginnings of the Church in 
Williamsport and elsewhere on the Susquehanna River, I am moved 
to write you a word of congratulation on its growth and strength 
there now. I was present at the consecration of Christ Church, 
Williamsport, on June 12, 1842, and then and there received my first 
communion. I went there from Lock Haven, with the Rev. Mr. Natt 
and his wife, of Bellefonte. Mrs. Natt is still living in Philadel- 
phia, and I suppose that she and I are almost the only persons 
left who were present at that service — with the exception pos- 
sibly of some member of Judge Lewis' family, or of Mr. Campbell's 
family. I have known the town of Williamsport ever since the 
river was navigated by fiatboats pushed up from tide water by 
poles against a man's shoulder! I do not think the memory of 
your "oldest inhabitant" goes very far back of that period. There 
is a Mr. White, a member of one of the congregations in Wil- 
liamsport, who, if still living, would have distinct recollection of 
us. Mr. Josiah Emery, not living, I think, was once my school 
teacher, but I can think of none others who know anything about 
me. A Mrs. Elliot is my cousin, but I think she is a Presbyterian. 
The places that once knew me so well now know me no more. 
"Change and decay are all around me." 

Hardly know why I have troubled you with these personal 
reminiscences, which can be of little interest to you, and so will 
only subscribe myself. 

Yours very truly, 

B. WISTAR MORRIS. 



Mr. Lightner's Rectorship ii 

other Sunday 1 and hold services in the Court House. Before 
long he had the support of influential people, including the 
wife and daughter of the Hon. Ellis Lewis, afterwards Chief 
Justice of Pennsylvania; and when he resigned in 1842, 
twenty-six months after the first introduction of the services, 
the communicants numbered fourteen, and there had been 
completed, paid for, and consecrated, a beautiful brick church, 
which cost nearly $3,000 — Bishop Onderdonk described it as 
"a very beautiful edifice of brick" — 40 by 56 feet, "with a 
tower, basement, gallery, and robing room." The report of 
1842 shows that the parish then embraced 14 families, in- 
cluding 72 persons, that seven persons (three adults and four 
children) had been baptized and five confirmed during the 
year, and that there had been two burials. No Sunday School 
had as yet been formed, because there was no place in which 
to assemble. Twelve dollars, $7.00 for the "Advancement 
Society" and $5.00 for the "Christmas Fund," had been con- 
tributed. No mention is made of any stipend paid the Mis- 
sionary, because during all the two years and more of his visits 
here he received no money from the Williamsport congregation. 
His salary at Muncy was less than $400, and the congregation 
in this parish seems to have thought that his services here 
were paid for by the Diocese! He either rode to Williams- 
port on horseback after morning services in Muncy, or else 
was driven here by the same vestryman whose horse he rode 
when he came alone. Surely it is only by a sort of poetic 
justice that this parish has in a measure retrieved this dis- 
honor by becoming in later years one of the foremost con- 
tributors to Diocesan missions. 

lAgain the "History of Lycoming County" is at variance. On 
page 397 it credits Mr. Lightner with conducting services only 
once a month. [Ed.] 




THE REV. JOHN BAKER CLEMSON, D. D. 
Rector 1842-1843 



TWO SHORT RECTORSHIPS. 
1842-1844. 



The Rev. John Baker Clemson — The Rev. Dr. Thomas C. 

Yarn all. 

All the historical data within our reach, of this period 
and for many years thereafter, indicate plainly enough what 
an uphill struggle it was to maintain the feeble Church-life 
thus heroically begun. 1 In the history of any parish, short 

l The following summary view of general conditions in the 
State in the early days of this parish appeared in "The Wayne 
Churchman" at the time of our semi-centennial celebration: 

"The State of Pennsylvania was one Diocese, under the care 
of the Right Rev. Henry U. Onderdonk. His labors were in one 
sense very like those of the pioneer bishops of the West. The 
parishes were small, often far apart, and travel hard throughout 
the State. There were no railroads except the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. But the sinewy soul of 
the Bishop was equal to his faithfully performed work. Not only 
did the established parishes receive his visits and care, but at 
many a point where the Church was not known did the good Bishop 
pause to drop a seed. Williamsport was one of these. Francis 
C. Campbell was at that time the only known Episcopalian in the 
place. The Bishop was in the annual habit of passing a night 
with Mr. Campbell and holding a service in the Court House. The 
population was composed of Presbyterians and Methodists, both 
of whom looked with doubt and suspicion upon the new (to them) 
form of worship. 

"Undeterred by the scarcely disguised hostility of the com- 
munity, Judge Lewis and Mr. J. F. Maynard, who had become in- 
terested, determined, w T ith Mr. Campbell, to organize a parish and 
build a church. A small brick building sufficed for the wants of 
the infant parish, which was ;sustained by a faithful few. At first 
the ministrations were conducted fortnightly by the Rev. Mr. Light - 
ner, who had a parish fourteen miles distant, and who used to ride 
on horseback in all extremes of weather to the scene of his 
labors " 

13 



14 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

and unsettled rectorships and vacant periods when no ser- 
vices are held at all, point clearly enough to the financial dis- 
couragement, moral indifference, and spiritual inertia of the 
people ; and Christ Church, Williamsport, had all the early 
experience of a weak and struggling young mission. 

After Mr. Lightner's resignation, the Rev. John Baker 
Clemson, 1 who had been rector of the Church of the Ascension, 

l The Rev. John Baker Clemson, D. D., was born 1803. His 
father was Thomas Clemson, a Philadelphia merchant; his mother 
Elizabeth (Baker) Clemson. 

Mr. Clemson graduated from Princeton 1822; was ordained 
deacon in St. Stephen's Church, Philadelphia, during the rectorship 
of Dr. James Montgomery, and priest in St. James's Church, Phila- 
delphia, which then stood at Seventh and Chestnut Streets. 

In 1826 Bishop White noted that "the Rev. John B. Clemson has 
succeeded the Rev. Jacob De Pui at Harrisburg. He officiated in 
Thompsontown and Millerstown; traveled over Pennsylvania seek- 
ing the Lord's direction as to Church work, and selected Harris- 
burg, where two Sunday Schools were established;" officiating 
also at Esthertown and in the Dauphin County almshouse. In 1828 
Dr. Clemson was associate rector of St. John's, Pequea, and Christ 
Church, Leacock, under the Rev. Joseph Clarkson, of Lancaster. 
He afterwards became rector. In 1832 he was at "the self-support- 
ing school," as he styles it, in Delaware, and rector of Chester, 
Marcus Hook and Concord. In 1836 he became rector of the 
Church of the Ascension, Philadelphia, a newly organized congre- 
gation. In 1842 he came to Williamsport and remained from June 
of that year till March 1843, when he accepted the rectorship 
of Holy Trinity, West Chester. From West Chester Dr. Clemson 
went to Claymont, Del., where he conducted a school for years and 
was rector at first of the Church of the Ascension there, and also 
of St. Martin's, Marcus Hook, Pa., but afterwards the latter parish 
was relinquished. He died at West Chester, February 3, 1891. Dr. 
Clemson, in 1826, was chaplain of the Masons, in a district com- 
prising Lancaster, York, Dauphin and Lebanon counties; he also, 
after moving to West Chester, acted as chaplain to one of the 
schools in that place. He was president of the Standing Commit- 
tee; a member of the Missionary and Education Committee, and a 
delegate to the General Convention. Dr. Clemson married a daugh- 
ter of the Rev. Dr. Bull, and one of his sons, Thomas G., has fol- 
lowed the footsteps of his grandfather and father by entering holy 
orders. [Extracted from a "Memoir" of Dr. Clemson by the Rev. 
S. F. Hotchkin, Philadelphia, Jacobs, 1898. Ed.] 




THE REV. THOMAS COFFIN YARNALL, D. D. 

Rector 1843-1844 



Two Short Rectorships 15 

Philadelphia, but who was now living at Holmesburgfi, was in- 
vited to take charge of the church "and gather a congregation." 
This he undertook and entered upon his duties June 26th, 
1842. His was a rectorship of only ten months, but to him 
belongs the credit of starting our first Sunday School, which 
he did the month after he came. His aggressive zeal was 
evidently unaffected by the heat of mid-summer, and the 
school that began in July had, three months later, the very 
creditable membership of 12 teachers and 60 scholars. Mr. 
Clemson was always present at the Sunday School, to en- 
courage and control the school and to make an address. 

He resigned this parish in March, 1843, to accept the 
rectorship of Holy Trinity, West Chester. When he removed 
in April, 1 it is recorded that he left "a large and flourishing 
Sunday School, and the Church in good standing for piety, 
zeal, and consistency among other sectaries (?)." He him- 
self wrote of Williamsport : "All this field is very inviting to 
the faithful, diligent laborer, and will amply repay him." 

Mr. Clemson was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Coffin 
Yarnall, 2 a recently ordained deacon, who entered upon his 

1 He preached his farewell sermon April 16, 1843. 

2 The Rev. Dr. Thomas C. Yarnall was born December 10, 1815, 
and after graduating from Yale University received the degree of 
D. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. 

He was ordained deacon, by Bishop Onderdonk, shortly before 
assuming charge of Christ Church in 1843. When he resigned, 
early the next year, it was to become rector of St. Mary's Church, 
Hamilton Village (now part of the 27th ward of the city of 
Philadelphia) ; and there, on May 19, 1844, he was ordained priest 
by Bishop Onderdonk. His rectorship at St. Mary's lasted fifty- 
six years, or until 1900, when he was made Rector Emeritus. Dur- 
ing his long rectorship the plain building in which his congregation 
worshipped was replaced by the beautiful edifice that stands to- 
day; while, by the end of fifty years of work, he was able to report 
that the number of communicants had increased from sixty-two to 
five hundred and sixty. 

Upon the occasion of the Jubilee of Dr. Yarnall's rectorship of 
St. Mary's appropriate services were held, at which the Bishop of 



16 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

duties as minister of the parish on September 17th, 1843. This 
was a rectorship of between six and seven months, in the 
course of which the Bishop visited the parish and during his 
visitation baptized and confirmed Judge Ellis Lewis and J. W. 
Maynard, Esq. Mr. Yarnall resigned April 11, 1844. 

Dr. Yarnall, who is still living, relates the following 
amusing reminiscence of the time of his rectorship here, to 
illustrate the feeble condition of the Church in Williamsport. 
A small company of lawyers were gathered in the Hotel 
United States on one occasion during court time, when, after 
dinner, one of their number left the parlor of the hotel in 
company with Mr. Yarnall. As the two gentlemen closed 
the door behind them they heard the company merrily enjoy- 
ing some one's remark, "There goes the whole Episcopal 
Church." Writing to the author of these chronicles, Dr. 
Yarnall says : "Christ Church, Williamsport, was feebleness 
itself while I was there, consisting of about twenty people 
all told." 

the Diocese was present to add his congratulations to those of the 
members of the parish. 

Dr. Yarnall married, July 9, 1846, Sarah Price Rose, by whom 
he had nine children, all of whom are still living. Mrs. Yarnall 
died June 24, 1904 but Dr. Yarnall, at the great age of 95, though 
suffering from physical infirmities, still continues Rector Emeritus 
of the church to which he went as rector sixty-six years ago. [Ed.] 




THE REV. WILLIAM JAMES CLARK 
Rector I 846 185 I 



MR. CLARK'S RECTORSHIP. 

1846-1851. 



Brighter Prospects — The Convocation of Northern 
Pennsylvania — Pushing Along. 

For two years and a half the church was without a rector, 
and there are no data to show that anything was attempted 
or accomplished during that period. But under the rector- 
ship of Mr. Clark, 1 the next incumbent, the parish entered 
upon a new era of hope and increasing prosperity, which may 
also, perhaps, in a measure, be attributed to the vigorous ad- 
ministration of the Diocese inaugurated by the new Bishop, 
the Right Rev. Alonzo Potter, who had been consecrated in 
September, 1845. Among other indications of Bishop Pot- 
ter's influence upon this parish through the person of its 
rector, is the acquisition, to be noted hereafter, of a Parish 

iThe Rev. William James Clark was born in Philadelphia in 
1812, and educated at a college, under the Rev. Stephen A. Tyng, 
at Bristol, Pa. He then went to the Theological Seminary, Alex- 
andria, Va., and there was ordained deacon by Bishop Moore; being- 
advanced to the priesthood by Bishop Onderdonk, in St. Andrew's 
Church, Wilmington, Del., in 1836 (or 1837). 

He served as assistant at St. Andrew's, Wilmington, Del., and 
then took charge of churches at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Berlin, Md„ 
and Churchtown, Pa., before, in 1846, he accepted the rectorship 
of Christ Church, Williamsport. 

Subsequent to leaving Williamsport he had charge of churches 
at Shrewsburg, Md., Portsmouth, Ohio, and Vineland, N. J., while 
for several years he conducted schools for young women in Wash- 
ington and Georgetown, D. C. 

In 1838 he married Annabella Harlan McCullough, of New 
Castle, Del. His death occurred in Philadelphia, January 23, 1893. 
Two daughters and three sons survived him, the best known of 
whom is Charles Heber Clark, who, under the pseudonym of Max 
Adeler, is the author of "Out of the Hurly Burly," "Captain Bluitt," 
"The Quakeress," etc., etc. [Ed.] 

17 



18 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

library and a "parsonage lot." The Bishop's connection with 
these gains is to be traced, we think, to his address to the 
Diocesan Convention of 1848, wherein he urges upon par- 
ishes the importance of providing homes for their clergy and 
adding thereto, where possible, a rector's library. 

The Rev. William James Clark, of Churchtown, Lan- 
caster County, visited the Church in October, 1846, with ref- 
erence to a call to the rectorship, and having accepted the 
Vestry's invitation of November 15th, entered upon his duties. 
The Missionary Society of Grace Church, Philadelphia, 
pledged $400 a year for three years towards the rector's sal- 
ary, on condition that this parish pay annually $200 for the 
same period and that the existing debt of $650 be paid off 
within this time. 

An event of more than local interest was associated with 
the parish when, in April, 1847, trie Convocation of North- 
ern Pennsylvania was organized here. The idea of convoca- 
tional gatherings thus begun was the starting point of that 
system of Diocesan Church Extension which has since been de- 
veloped into the four archdeaconries of the Diocese of Cen- 
tral Pennsylvania, 1 the eight convocations of the Diocese 
of Pennsylvania, and the two convocations of the Diocese 
of Pittsburg, all of which territory was, until 1865, embraced 
in the one Diocese of Pennsylvania. Bishop Potter, in his 
convention address of 1847, was verv sanguine of the great 
benefit that would accrue to the clergy and people of these 
remoter regions through quarterly meetings in different par- 
ishes for the purpose of holding public services and private 
conferences. This was the second convocation inaugurated 
by the Bishop, the first one having been called by him in 
Pittsburg the preceding October. To Christ Church, Wil- 

1 At the present date the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, with 
its name changed to the Diocese of Bethlehem, contains two of 
these archdeaconries, Reading and Scranton. The Diocese of Har- 
risburg, which was carved out of the Diocese of Central Pennsyl- 
vania, contains the other two, Harrisburg and Williamsport, and in 
addition a new Archdeaconry of Altoona. [Ed.] 



Mr. Clark's Rectorship 19 

liamsport, therefore, belongs the honor of having been the 
first place in the State, east of Pittsburg, where a convocation 
was held. Appended to the Bishop's address of the next 
year is a copy of the rules of this convocation, which the 
Bishop seems to have regarded as a model of excellence. The 
counties embraced within the Convocation of Northern Penn- 
sylvania were Bradford, Sullivan, Tioga, Lycoming, Colum- 
bia, Northumberland, Union, Clinton, Centre, Mifflin and 
Huntingdon, all of them, with the exception of Bradford, 
Mifflin, and Huntingdon, within the present Archdeaconry of 
Williamsport. 

At the Diocesan Convention in May, 1847, the parish 
applied for admission to the convention and was duly re- 
ceived. A fair was held in the Court House by the ladies of 
the parish in June of that year, and by the sale of useful and 
fancy articles they netted the sum of $275 towards the pay- 
ment of the $650 debt. The following September the young 
ladies of the congregation commenced sewing one afternoon 
a week for the erection of a fence in front of the church. 
Their sale in December netted them $42. During 1847 an< 3 
1848 the Sunday School received the gift from the American 
Sunday School Union of two libraries comprising two hun- 
dred volumes. In 1849, the three years of grace having come 
to an end, Mr. Clark could thankfully record that the debt 
of $650 had been entirely wiped out. In May, 1850, the 
parish received from the Bishop White Prayer Book Society 
a donation of the parish library of St. Mary's Church, Jersey 
Shore, and also an addition thereto of twenty-five other vol- 
umes. A portion of this grant still remains in the rectory 
as part of the study library. Through the kindness of a few 
friends Mr. Clark was enabled to procure six lamps for the 
church, at a cost of $30, and by a fair held on the 5th of 
June, 1850, the ladies of the church realized the sum of $500 
for the purchase of the lot next to the church, whereon to 
build a rectory. Thirteen days later, no doubt with great 
gladness and elation, the lot was purchased ; and on the 



20 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

same day the parish bought "an uncommonly fine-toned 
organ" for $400, the builder being James Hall, of Baltimore. 

Thus within a few years, from a condition of great dis- 
couragement and inactivity, we see evidences of temporal 
improvement crowding upon each other as tokens of Mr. 
Clark's energetic administration. Looking to the spiritual 
condition of the parish, Mr. Clark regarded the attendance 
upon the services of the church as very good, and thought 
that a general degree of seriousness pervaded the congrega- 
tion. He thought the parish "remarkable for its unanimity." 
But at the same time he seems to have felt some discourage- 
ment at the slow growth in the number of families and com- 
municants. This condition of Church life appears, however, 
to have been more or less general throughout the region. 
After a rectorship of nearly four years and a half, on the 6th 
day of April, 1851, Mr. Clark resigned the parish in order to 
take charge of a female seminary in the city of Washington. 
The church was now entirely free from debt, and Mr. Clark 
reported that his salary of $300 1 had been paid regularly. 
The real estate of the parish consisted of the church building 
and lot, and the adjoining "parsonage lot," and the people 
were encouraged to believe that in a very few years the parish 
would be self-sustaining. 

iThe fact that the minute book of the Vestry was not com- 
menced till 1852 makes it impossible to explain this statement. 
Mr. Clark, when he came in 1846, was promised $600 annually for 
three years ($200 from Christ Church, $400 from Grace Church). 
Possibly from 1849 he was compelled to get along on $300. [Ed.] 




THE REV. JOHN HENRY BLACK 
Rector I 85 I -I 853 



THREE MORE SHORT RECTORSHIPS. 

1851-1855. 



The Rev. John Henry Black — The Rev. Edward Purdon 
Wright — The Rev. W. H. Cooper. 

The next incumbent of the parish was the Rev. John 
Henry Black, 1 who entered upon his rectorship on October 
ioth, 1851, 2 and remained until June 12th, 1853. 3 An unusu- 

lThe Rev. John Henry Black was born October 27, 1822, and 
graduated at Hamilton College, 1848, B. A., and afterwards 
M. A. He was principal of the Erie (Pa.) Academy, 1848-1851, 
when he accepted the rectorship of Christ Church, Williamsport, 
Pa., 1851-1853. After leaving Williamsport he was rector of Zion 
Church, Belvidere, and St. John's Church, Somerville, N. J., 1853- 
1857; St. Paul's Church, Sing Sing, N. Y., 1857-1862; Trinity 
Church, Newport, R. I., 1862-1865; St. John's, Erie, Pa., 1866-1868, 
and Trinity Church, Renovo, Pa., 1874-1881. He resided at Wil- 
liamsport, Pa., from 1869 to 1888, but in the latter year removed to 
Washington, D. C, where he continued to reside until his death, 
August 17, 1893. 

While at Williamsport he married, November 3, 1853, Caroline 
Campbell, daughter of Francis C. (Vestry's Warden) and Jane 
Campbell. 

He was for several years a trustee of the General Theological 
Seminary, New York, and was Dean of the Convocation of Wil- 
liamsport 1880-1885. He was a man of marked administrative ca- 
pacity, of wide and deep learning, especially in the classics and 
in the history and exegesis of the Bible. He published no books, 
but was much occupied in the later years of his life in the prepara- 
tion of lectures on various topics for theological students and 
classes and occasional papers for clerical clubs and meetings. 
[Ed.] 

2 Mr. Black accepted the rectorship with the understanding that 
his connection with the parish was not to be of lengthy duration. 
The financial difficulties under which the parish labored during his 
rectorship are noted in "Summary Notes: 'The Money Problem.'" 
The first minute book of the Vestry was commenced during Mr. 
Black's rectorship. [Ed.] 

3 The Parish Guide (February, 1870) is apparently in error 
perhaps by a typographical slip, in giving June 11 as the date. 

81 



22 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

ally large confirmation class marked this period, eleven per- 
sons being presented for the apostolic rite on the 21st of July, 
1852. Among these were two who subsequently became 
prominently active in the life of the parish — Oliver Watson, 
Esq., and Miss Elizabeth W. Hepburn, afterwards Mrs. Val- 
entine S. Doebler, the latter of whom is still an active com- 
municant. 1 Before leaving Williamsport the marriage of Mr. 
Black and Miss Caroline Campbell, daughter of F. C. Camp- 
bell, Esq., Vestry's Warden, was solemnized by his successor, 
the Rev. Mr. Wright. 

Mr. Black was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Purdon 
Wright, 2 of Burlington, New Jersey, who was called to the 

lMrs. Doebler has since died (May 25, 1907,) at the age of 75 
years. [Ed.] 

2 The Rev. Dr. Edward Purdon Wright was born in Lincoln- 
shire, England, April 25, 1825. He was the eldest son of the Rev. 
Robert and Eliza (Purdon) Wright, the former a native of Ireland, 
the latter of Wales. 

Dr. Wright was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, 
and graduated from Burlington College, N. J., in 1853, having been 
ordained deacon by Bishop Doane in t*he previous year. He was 
advanced to the priesthood in 1853, and was acting rector of Bur- 
lington College at the time he came to Christ Church, Williamsport. 
He tendered his resignation six months from that date (April 3, 
1854), to accept the rectorship of St. John's, Pequa, and St. Mark's, 
Honeybrook. 

During the next twenty years Dr. Wright had numerous charges. 
He was in Nashua, N. H.; at Christ Church, Waukegan, 111.; St. 
James's Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Christ Church, Dayton, Ohio. 
In both his Ohio parishes new churches were built under his super- 
vision, that in Dayton costing $50,000. He went to Milwaukee in 
1873, and for seventeen years labored in the State of Wisconsin, 
chiefly in missionary fields, but in 1890 (?) was rector of Trinity, 
Wauwatosa, a parish founded by him. In 1889 he was appointed 
chaplain of the National Military Home for Disabled Veteran Sol- 
diers, which position he held until his death, January 25, 1910, at 
the age of eighty-five. 

Dr. Wright married, in 1846, Mrs. S. P. Coryell, of Philadelphia, 
who died in 1884, and in 1885 Miss Georgia Bennett, daughter of 
C. W. Bennett, former Sheriff of Waukesha County, Wis., who sur- 
vives him. He was interested in Masonry, being a thirty-second 
degree member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rites. [Ed.] 




THE REV. EDWARD PURDON WRIGHT, D. D. 
Rector I 853-1 854 



Three More Short Rectorships 23 

rectorship October 3d, 1853, 1 and entered at once upon his 
duties. 2 At the end of three months Mr. Wright records with 
devout thankfulness to Almighty God that the congregations 
had steadily increased, the church being frequently filled conv 
pletely, and that the Sunday School, which seems to have run 
down previously very much, had also steadily increased in 
numbers and efficiency, from 9 teachers and 27 scholars to 13 
teachers and 59 scholars. When Mr. Wright resigned, April 
3d, 1854, 3 the number of scholars had increased to 65, and 
subscriptions amounting to about $1,500 had been made for 
the erection of a "parsonage house." 

The Vestry were using commendable exertions to hasten 
the accomplishment of this project. They took their first 
action looking to this end on the 23d of January, 1854, and at 
a meeting held the following month, the plans of Mr. James 
Damant, a member of the Vestry, were approved, and it was 
resolved to build a house at a cost not to exceed $2,200, which 
was to be completed by the first of the following October. 
Thomas Throp proposed to build the parsonage for $2,195 
and the old house on the lot, and offered to make a contribution 
of $50 toward the building. Before the completion of this struc- 
ture, which was delayed beyond the expected time, the Vestry 
felt obliged to borrow $1,000, and place a mortgage on the 
house, so that when Mr. Cooper, the next rector, was able to 
report the structure completed, it had cost $2,250, besides some 
$150 for extras, fencing, etc.; and upwards of $973 was yet 
due on it. Mr. Cooper described the rectory as "a beautiful 
and commodious parsonage of brick," such as "would do 
credit to many a more extensive and more wealthy parish." 

iThe Parish Guide (February, 1870,) says October 10, 1853. 

2 Mr. Wright was guaranteed $400 — plus "any sum arising from 
rent of house on parsonage lot till 1st of April next ensuing." [Ed.] 

3 Mr. Wright's resignation was accepted, then declined and a 
new financial proposition made to him, but under date of April 11, 
1854, Mr. Wright advised the Vestry that "under all the circum- 
stances of the case," and in the true interests of the parish, he 
deemed it his duty to sever his connection with Christ Church. 
[Ed.] 



24 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Some $1,000 had been raised within the borough for this ob- 
ject, and only about $200 had come in from outside. 

After Mr. Wright came the Rev. W. H. Cooper, 1 who 
assumed the rectorship on September 17, 2 1854. Mr. Cooper 
was an Englishman, whose orders appear to have been con- 
ferred either in England or the Colonies. The salary guaran- 
teed Mr. Cooper by the Vestry was $500 a year, besides $100 
for expenses of removal, and the use of a parsonage house, with 
the free use of a dwelling until the same should be completed. 
Although this salary was paid punctually, Mr. Cooper ten- 
dered his resignation on the 20th of July, 1855, ten months 
after he came, because the Vestry felt that they were unable 
to raise the amount of the salary for another year. Doubtless 
the burden of building the rectory had exhausted the financial 
ability of the congregation. 3 The parish had suffered much 
from vacancies occasioned by frequent clerical changes. The 
church had been closed for three months prior to Mr. Cooper's 

1 In the Journal of the Proceedings of the Seventieth Conven- 
tion of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Pennsyl- 
vania, May, 1854, Mr. Cooper reported that in the June previous he 
had taken charge of the parish of Tamaqua, with Tuscarora an- 
nexed, but on invitation of the Foreign Committee of the Board of 
Missions to undertake a mission to Rio Janeiro, had resigned in the 
succeeding October. The steamship in which he sailed, the "San 
Francisco," was wrecked, many lives being lost. Mr. Cooper and 
his family, after suffering extreme hardships, were ultimately car- 
ried to New York, and he, on account of his shattered health, re- 
leased from his engagements by the Foreign Committee. He vis- 
ited churches in the South and West in the interest of South Amer- 
ican Missions and resumed parish work. The records show he 
served at the following places: Williamsport, Pa., 1854; Tusca- 
rora, Pa., 1854; Tiffin, Ohio, 1857; Waukegan, 111., 1861; Chicago, 
111., 1862; Belvidere, 111., 1866; Lockport, 111., 1869; and Mount 
Pleasant, Iowa, 1871. While at Mt. Pleasant Mr. Cooper experi- 
enced doubt as to the truth of certain theological dogmas and 
seceded to the Reformed Episcopal Church. He signed his report 
in the "Journal" of 1854, William H. Cooper. [Ed.] 

2 The Parish Guide (February, 1870,) says September 14th. 

3 On July 14th the Vestry reluctantly notified Mr. Cooper they 
could, if certain persons continued subscriptions, pay $400 — if not, 
then but $350. Such a reduction could have but one result. [Ed.] 



Three More Short Rectorships 25 

coining, and for the preceding four summers. It was ac- 
knowledged that the field was a hard one, but the completion 
of the Sunbury and Erie Railroad and of the Williamsport and 
Elmira Railroad, each having a terminus in the borough, led 
to the hope that the church would soon profit by the increase 
of population and extraordinary impetus to trade in this region 
which were already being manifested. These hopes seem to 
have been largely realized, for with the rectorship of the Rev. 
Richard Channing Moore we enter upon an era of increasing 
strength and prosperity that has continued unabated to the 
present time. 

As we are now about to enter upon another epoch in the 
history of the parish, it will be interesting to note some of the 
statistics that mark the close of Mr. Cooper's rectorship. The 
parish in 1855 embraced 24 families, including 95 persons, 
"belonging to the Church, besides numerous occasional wor- 
shippers." The communicants numbered 38. The whole 
number of persons baptized during the preceding fifteen years 
was 68 ; confirmed during the same period, 30. There were 
about 45 scholars in the Sunday School, besides a Bible class 
taught by the Rector, comprising 17 members, "besides strag- 
glers." An offering of $15 for foreign missions made some 
time between September and May deserves a special note of 
admiration. 




THE REV. RICHARD CHANNING MOORE 
Rector 1855-1865 






MR. MOORE'S RECTORSHIP. 
1855-1865. 



The Parish School — First Steps Towards a New Church. 

Mr. Moore, the namesake of his father, the second Bishop 
of Virginia, 1 entered upon his duties on the 20th of October, 
1855, and ministered here until about October, 1865. 2 The 
Vestry asked the Diocesan Missionary Society to continue its 

1 Whose portrait can be seen in the Guild Room of the Parish 
House. 

2 The Rev. Richard Channing Moore, born in New York, Oct. 
16, 1810, was the son of the Rt. Rev. Richard Channing Moore, the 
second Bishop of Virginia and the fourteenth in the succession of 
the American Episcopate. 

He graduated, from Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., A. B., 
1829, M. A., 1834; and from the Theological Seminary of Virginia, 
1832. He was ordained deacon 1832 and priest 1833, his first work 
being as assistant minister at St. Andrew's Church, Philadelphia, 
under his cousin, the Rev. Dr. Bedell. He was rector of St. John's 
Church, Elizabeth, N. J., from 1837 to 1855, in which year he ac- 
cepted the call to Christ Church, Williamsport. While at St. John's 
his ministry was so effective that a considerable enlargement of the 
church edifice was necessary: "An addition of eight feet was made 
to each side of the house, and the interior was wholly renewed." 
After his resignation from Christ Church, in 1865, he seems, owing 
to his impaired health, not to have again undertaken active work. 
His death occurred in Williamsport, May 21, 1865. 

Mr. Moore married Miss Julia Richardson, of Philadelphia, by 
whom he had issue: 1, Julia Grant; 2, Richard Channing; 3, 
Gregory Townsend Bedell; 4, Gertrude; 5, Samuel Grant; 6, Sarah 
Virginia; 7, Mary; 8, Emily Salter; 9, Fannie. 

In 1901 his son, Mr. G. T. Bedell Moore, placed a window of the 
"Good Shepherd" to his memory in Christ Church. The memorial 
chapel of St. John's, also given by Mr. G. T. Bedell Moore, the ground 
for it and the parish house, and the various memorials in the 
chapel itself, gifts of his widow, daughters and sons, and Mr. 
Lutcher, are described in the chapters, "Mr. Jones' Rectorship," and 
"Summary Notes: 'St, John's Chapel.'" [Ed.] 

27 



28 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

aid toward the support of the rector, as it had been doing 
heretofore, themselves pledging him $400 salary and the use of 
the rectory, and agreeing to his giving one-fourth of his time 
to services at Lock Haven. 1 There was a recently formed 
congregation there, to which Mr. Moore gave a few services, 
after which the infant parish secured a rector for itself. Mr. 
Moore also for a time held services regularly at Northum- 
berland. His first report about Christ Church, Williamsport, 
breathes a hopeful tone throughout. Although the winter had 
been severe, the services had been regularly held, with an en- 
couraging attendance. Measures had been adopted to repair 
the church building and to pay oft* the debt of $1,000 on the 
rectory. The expense of the former was undertaken by a 
single member of the Vestry, Judge Maynard, and amounted 
to about $350. Gas was introduced into the rectory in 1856-7, 
and the debt completely wiped out. Mr. Moore aroused the 
Sunday School to considerable interest in missions, and for a 
time received an average contribution of a dollar a Sunday for 
this great work of the church, and in 1858 he reports "contri- 
butions for missions and other objects about $100." The 
Sunday School offering the next Christmas was for foreign 
missions and amounted to $39.66. Through the assistance of 
friends in Philadelphia and elsewhere, the church was fur- 
nished with a fine bell and a handsome marble font. In 1858-9 
gas was introduced into the church and water into the rectory, 
at an expense of about $250, which was met by the receipts of 
a fair. During the same year Mr. Moore had started a Fe- 
male Boarding and Day School, which had a flourishing ex- 
istence for several years. A number of well known ladies still 
living in Williamsport received a portion of their education in 
this institution. 

Several of the items in Mr. Moore's report of 1861 are 
noteworthy. Twenty-five persons had been baptized during 
the year, 13 presented for confirmation, and the number of 
communicants had risen to 57. The Sunday School work 

iThe Vestry hoped that the Lock Haven congregation would 
assist Mr. Moore financially. [Ed.] 



Mr. Moore's Rectorship 29 

showed a great advance. There were 25 teachers and 150 
scholars. These were divided between two schools, for a sec- 
ond Sunday School had been started during- the year in the 
neighborhood of Elmira and West Edwin Streets. Beginning 
about the first of the following year, Mr. Moore held monthly 
service there, besides the weekly Sunday School, and this ar- 
rangement continued until December, 1864, when both school 
and services had to be discontinued because the building was 
no longer available. The parish in 1861, moreover, was again 
entirely out of debt and had just become self-supporting. The 
Sunday School that year gave nearly $40 to foreign missions. 
Services were now held twice on Sundays, every Wednesday, 
and daily during Lent. The rector's salary was $650, and 
there had been contributed to other objects about $300. That 
was a bright and hopeful year. It will be interesting to note 
here the names of the Vestrymen through whose co-operation 
so much had been accomplished. They were Messrs. F. C. 
Campbell, Rector's Warden ; Lester Griswolcl, Vestry's War- 
den; James H. Perkins, P. Xolancl, Oliver Watson, John W r . 
Maynard, James Damant, John White, and E. C. Johnson. 1 
The last named was the brother of the Rev. Alfred Evan John- 
son, who at a later period became locum tenens of the parish. 

On Whitsun Monday, May 25th, 1863, the Rev. Mr. 
Moore started a parish school with divine service in the 
church. Twenty-nine scholars were enrolled, most of them 
being boys between five and twelve years of age. Besides 
their secular studies, the children were taught the doctrines of 
religion as held by the Church, and were catechized weekly by 
the Rector. The successive teachers of this school were, ( 1 ) 
Miss Susan M. Sayre, from May to December, 1863; (2) Miss 
Sallie R. Lloyd, from December, 1863, to December, 1864; 

(3) Miss Fanny Bailey, from December, 1863, (?) to ; 

(4) Miss Williams, from , to April or 

May, 1866; (5) Miss Mary Elizabeth Chubbuck, from Sep- 
tember, 1866, to the spring of 1868, and (6) Miss Sayre again 
from the fall of 1868 until the school closed. A short service 

1 This is the Vestry elected Easter, 1861. [Ed.] 



30 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

with the children of the school was held every morning during 
the mild weather, and the ordinary sessions appear to have 
been held at first in the basement. Afterwards, November, 
1864, a small brick house at the rear of the church lot was 
purchased by the Vestry at a cost of $800, and used for both 
the weekday and Sunday Schools. In 1864 the average at- 
tendance at the parish school was 40 scholars. This school 
continued to flourish during the rectorships of Mr. Wadleigh 
and Dr. Paret, the former of whom reported 50 scholars in at- 
tendance. 

Mr. Moore was very anxious to secure better accommo- 
dations for his growing work, and labored strenuously to this 
end for several years, but without attaining his great desire. 
It was not until his successor entered upon the incumbency of 
the parish that the Vestry bestirred itself effectually in this 
direction. Mr. Moore's first move for a new church was on 
Thanksgiving Day in 1862, when he called a parish meeting 
to "take steps towards church improvement," by either re- 
modeling the present structure or erecting a new one. No de- 
cisive action was taken at this time, however, although Judge 
Maynard offered to subscribe $1,000 towards a new church, 
and Mr. Peter Herdic was willing to be one of six persons 
to bear the expense of building it. The indecision of the con- 
gregation was due to a sharp diversity of opinion as to the 
location of the church, some desiring to have it on a more cen- 
tral — that is, a more westerly — site, and others preferring to 
have it remain where it was. This disagreement was so pro- 
nounced and prolonged that it greatly jeopardized the pros- 
perity of the parish, and even for a time hindered its growth. 
Nearly four years passed by before the Vestry decided to 
build, and in the meantime Mr. Moore had been succeeded by 
Mr. Wadleigh. In the spring and summer of 1864, (the Rev. 
Mr. Moore still being rector), by means of two concerts and a 
fair, the sum of $1,400 was realized towards the building. 




THE REV. ALBRA WADLEIGH 
Rector 1866-1869 



MR. WADLEIGH 'S RECTORSHIP. 

1866-1869. 



The New Church Begun — The Beginnings of St. Mary's. 

In the spring- of 1865 Mr. Moore notified the Vestry of 
his desire to sever his relation with the parish. His salary, 
which the year before had been raised to $800 in accordance 
with the recommendation of the Bishop's convention address, 
was now $400 in arrears, but this was all paid before he left 
Williamsport in the fall. 1 For several months after his de- 
parture the church was again closed, except for occasional ser- 
vices, but in February, 1866, the Rev. Albra Wadleigh, 2 Rector 
of St. James's Church, Muncy, was chosen to the vacant rec- 
torship, at a salary of $1,000 and rectory, and entered upon 
his duties the following April (Easter Day). The Sunday 
School, however, in the meantime, had continued its sessions 

1 The Vestry made a special assessment on the pewholders of 
an amount equal to the sum due Mr. Moore. [Ed.] 

2 The Rev. Albra Wadleigh was born July 3, 1833, in Biddeford, 
Me. He was the son of Albra Wadleigh, a native of South Berwick, 
Me., and his wife, Eliza (Brewster) Wadleigh, a descendant of 
Elder William Brewster of the Pilgrim Fathers. 

Originally Congregationalist, the family was brought into the 
Church by the Reverend, later Bishop, Horatio Potter, by whom 
Albra Wadleigh, as well as the other children, was baptized. The 
Wadleighs moved to Boston when Albra was but one year old, and 
he was educated at the Boston Latin School and Harvard Univer- 
sity, class of 1854. While at Harvard he was class poet, and a 
member of the Hasty Pudding as well as of the other clubs of that 
time. 

In 1854 he entered the General Theological Seminary, and was 
ordained deacon by Bishop Horatio Potter in 1857. In September 
of the same year he assumed charge of St. James's, Muncy, and was 
advanced to the priesthood by Bishop Bowman, Assistant Bishop of 
Pennsylvania, in St. Philip's Church, Philadelphia, in 1859. On 
June 27, 1861, he married Emily, only daughter of Francis William 

3i 



32 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

and maintained its membership, under the superintendency, 
first of Mr. G. T. Bedell Moore, and afterwards of Mr. J. J. 
Crocker, who retained charge till Mr. Wadleigh assumed the 
duties of the rectorship. 

An event of local importance and diocesan interest had 
taken place just prior to the beginning of Mr. Wadleigh's in- 
cumbency. This was the erection on Vine Street, above May- 
nard, in the fall of 1865, of a new church building known as 
"Trinity Chapel." Several families withdrew from Christ 
Church to form this congregation, among whom were those 
of Peter Herdic 1 and H. F. Snyder, who had been among the 
most active members of this parish. The Rev. H. S. Spack- 

Rawle, the ceremony being performed in St. Mark's Church, Phila- 
delphia. 

Mr. Wadleigh's rectorship of St. James's, Muncy, lasted nine 
years, during which time the beautiful gothic church was built. He 
also held services at Derry, now Exchange, and started missions in 
a school-house at Halls, just across from the present railroad sta- 
tion; in a log school-house six miles back in the hills, known as 
DeWalt's school-house, and at Montoursville. 

Upon accepting the rectorship of Christ Church, Williamsport, 
Easter, 1866, he was obliged to give up the missions at Halls and 
DeWalt's, but continued that at Montoursville, where he after- 
wards built a pretty church. 

Before coming to Williamsport Mr. Wadleigh, in 1864, obtained 
a six months leave of absence to go to the front with the Sanitary 
Commission. He was sent to City Point, near Richmond, and was 
himself attacked by the fever so prevalent in the army. After 
some months' illness he recovered, and traveled in the interests of 
the Commission. 

It was but a little over a year after the commencement of Mr. 
Wadleigh's rectorship, when the cornerstone of the new Christ 
Church was laid, June 27, 1867, and on the same day he had the 
gratification of also seeing laid the cornerstone of the Church of 
Our Saviour, Montoursville, where he had labored so faithfully. 

The history of the Wadleigh Memorial Chapel, (St. Mary's), is 
told in the text of these chronicles. 

Mr. Wadleigh resigned, April 1, 1869, to become rector of St. 
Luke's, Germantown, Philadelphia, where he continued until his 
death, May 25, 1873. 

l Later, 1871-6, the mission was replaced by the present stone 
church at the sole cost of Mr. Herdic. [Ed.] 



Mr. Wadleigh's Rectorship 33 

man became the rector of the new congregation, which thus 
began an independent career, and has since become our strong 
sister parish up town. 

When Mr. Wadleigh became rector of Christ Church it 
was decided, in deference to his wishes, to make it a "free 
church.'' On no other condition would he accept the rector- 
ship. From that time for a period of some forty years, not- 
withstanding the industrial and commercial vicissitudes of the 
community, including three periods of general financial panic, 
and two disastrous visitations affecting the prosperity of the 
whole city, the parish was supported by the weekly offerings 
of the congregation. '"'Rich and poor meet together: the 
Lord is the Maker of them all.'' Soon after his coming, as 
yet more effectually to break up the exclusiveness of the 
"pewed-church system,'' Mr. Wadleigh had all the doors of 
the pews removed. 1 

Almost immediately after Mr. Wadleigh came active steps 
were taken to build a new church. On June n, 1866, the 
Vestry resolved to enter upon the undertaking, and on the 31st 
of August a Ladies' Aid Society was organized to meet weekly 
and to work "for the benefit of the Church." The guild known 
by the same name to-day was not formed till nine years later. 
The first officers chosen were: Mrs. J. Smeeton, President: 
Mrs. Y. S. Doebler, Vice-president, and Mrs. Dr. W. F. 
Logan, Treasurer. 

Mr. Lester Griswold, who had been Vestry's Warden since 

1 The Rev. Robert W. Grange, D. D., now Rector of the Church 
of the Ascension, Pittsburg, tells how at Mr. Wadleigh's request he 
accompanied the latter to the church from the adjoining rectory 
one summer day and assisted the rector to take off the doors and 
store them in the cellar. Dr. Grange was at that time a student 
at Racine College, and when the students returned in the fall, the 
professor of Latin, on the first morning of the new term, invited 
them to tell what they had been doing during the summer. Mr. 
Grange told how he had helped the Rector of Christ Church re- 
move the pew-doors and how astonished and indignant the congre- 
gation were on the following Sunday. Whereupon the old profes- 
sor tittered in his peculiar way and remarked, "I suppose they 
all exclaimed, Proh pudor" (pew-door)! (Oh, for shame!) 



34 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

1854, died January 9, 1867; and Mr. Francis Campbell, who 
had been Rector's Warden since 1855, died April 21, 1867. 
Major James H. Perkins 1 was elected to succeed the former 
and Mr. Oliver Watson 2 was appointed by Mr. Wadleigh to 
succeed the latter. 

1 Major James H. Perkins was born in South New Market, 
Rockingham County, N. H., March 13, 1803. In 1830 he moved 
to Philadelphia, where, rising from a journeyman in a factory, he 
became a member of the firm operating it, and retired with a fair- 
sized competency in 1844. He moved to Williamsport in 1845 and 
immediately became affiliated with the lumber interests. In 1849 
he built the first, boom in the Susquehanna, which, proving a suc- 
cess, enabled him to organize a stock company which built the 
celebrated boom in 1850-51. He retired in 1870. He was one of 
the founders of the Williarnsport Hospital and president of the 
Board; a member of Select Council for several terms and also 
president of that body; a director of the West Branch Bank, and 
interested in the Wildwood Cemetery Company. His title of Major 
was derived from his connection with the 24th Pennsylvania Mili- 
tia, of which, in 1842, he was elected major. 

On July 30, 1844, he married Mary Jane, daughter of Joshua 
Smythe, of New Hampshire. He died without issue July 15, 1893. 
He was a member of the Vestry from 1852 (?) to 1893, and Vestry's 
Warden 1867-1893. In 1885 Major Perkins placed a window in the 
church to the memory of his wife, who died May 1, 1884. Subse- 
quent to his own death a tablet to his memory was placed beneath 
the window. [Ed.] 

2 Oliver Watson was born November 10, 1811, in Loyalsock 
Township, Lycoming County, Pa. His boyhood was spent with 
Colonel John McMeen, his maternal uncle, who had settled on the 
"Long Reach" a few miles west of Williamsport. In 1826 Colonel 
McMeen moved to Waterville, where Mr. Watson, in 1830, served 
an apprenticeship of two years at a trade; and, after attending 
school for some time, in 1834 taught school for six months. He 
next took charge of a school near the residence of the Hon. George 
Crawford, and being advised to study law, came to Williamsport, 
entered the office of the Hon. James Armstrong, and was admitted 
to the bar of Lycoming County in 1837. While reading law he 
served as clerk in the office of the County Commissioners, but 
resigned that position in 1838 to accept the appointment of County 
Treasurer, which office he held for three years. In 1841 Mr. Wat- 
son entered into law partnership with the Hon. John W. Maynard, 
under the firm name of Maynard & Watson. He retired from the 



Mr. Wadleigh's Rectorship 35 

Two lots at the corner of East Fourth and Mulberry 
Streets, 104 by 208 feet, were purchased in 1866 of Lewis Mc- 
Dowell for $4,000. The plan of the church, designed to seat 
500 people, was drawn by J. F. Miller, of New York City. 
The estimated cost of the building was $30,000, but because of 
the unsuspected costliness of the stone and labor, the amount 
actually expended before the church was ready for use was 
about $40,000, and this without the upper portion of the tower. 
The building committee consisted of the Rector (the Rev. Mr. 
Wadleigh) and Messrs. John White, James H. Perkins, Oliver 
Watson, James V. Brown, James Damant, and James Rawle 
(the brother-in-law of Mr. Wadleigh). 

The corner-stone of the new structure was laid on the 
morning of Thursday, June 27th, 1867. The Sunday School 
children formed a procession and marched to the place, carry- 
ing appropriate banners and devices. They are said to have 
made a fine appearance. The stone was laid by Bishop Stev- 
ens, who also made an address. Other addresses were deliv- 
ered by the Rev. Edwin N. Lightner, the founder of the parish, 
and the Rev. Mr. Wadleigh, the then rector. Seven others of 
the clergy were present, namely, the Rev. H. S. Spackman 
(Trinity, Williamsport), the Rev. G. W. Shinn (Lock Haven), 
the Rev. G. P. Hopkins (Troy), the Rev. J. N. Spear (Sha- 
mokin), the Rev. A. R. Brush (Muncy), the Rev. Mr. John- 
son, and the Rev. T. H. Cullen (Bloomsburg). Under the 

firm in 1848 and associated with himself A. J. Little. Mr. Little 
retired from the firm two years later and Mr. Watson practiced 
alone till 1856. He was then elected president of the West Branch 
National Bank; was president of the Market Street Bridge Com- 
pany, and had numerous financial interests. For some years prior 
to his death he was almost totally blind. 

On November 16, 1843, Mr. Watson married Marietta, daugh- 
ter of the Hon. David Scott, by whom he had eight children. He 
died September 1, 1882. 

Mr. Watson was a member of the first Vestry of Christ Church 
and served continuously till his death. In 1855 and again in 1860 
he was Secretary and Treasurer, and from 1867 to 1869 Rector's 
Warden. His son, William S. Watson, was also a member of the 
Vestry, 1878-1882. 



36 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

corner-stone was placed a box containing a Bible, Book of 
Common Prayer, some copies of Church papers, and other 
articles. 

Mr. Wadleigh in 1865, before coming to Williamsport, 
had started to hold services in Montoursville, where he subse- 
quently purchased a lot and built the present frame church 
seating 250 persons. He continued to hold services there after 
he became rector of Christ Church, and was followed in this 
by Dr. Paret. 

In 1868 the Vestry of this parish received by deed from 
Mr. Samuel Lloyd, whose name is familiarly associated with 
that part of the city known as "Lloyd's Addition," the gift of 
a corner lot 50 by 100 feet, in what Mr. Wadleigh described 
as ''a neglected but rapidly increasing part of the city." This 
lot was on the north-west corner of Almond and Meade 
Streets. A small frame chapel was at once erected here, and 
a school started. At the end of the first year of this school 
Mr. Wadleigh reported 18 teachers and 150 scholars as belong- 
ing to it. The Rev. Samuel Earp became associated with Mr. 
Wadleigh as his assistant, for six months, July 5, 1868, to 
January 1, 1869, and it was largely due to his enthusiastic and 
painstaking efforts that the mission school and first services 
were successfully begun in November, 1868. This earnest 
man labored with great vigor to bring together the children of 
the neighborhood, which was then an unpaved and swampy 
region, where rubber boots were essential for comfortable loco- 
motion. Many of the children gathered by Mr. Earp were 
strangers to the names of God and Jesus except in profanity. 
Among the earnest lay workers in this noble mission of the 
parish in those early days may be mentioned the following 
Church-folk who are still actively identified with Christ 
Church : Mrs. V. S. Doebler, who taught the "infant school ;" 
Col. Embick, Mrs. Cyrus Heller, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Dayton, 
the former of whom was for some time superintendent of the 
school, Mr. J. J. Crocker, Mr. J. E. Jones, Mrs. C. V. Runkle, 
Mrs. George E. Shiffler, Mrs. C. M. Renaut, Mrs. A. M. 



Mr. Wadleigh's Rectorship 37 

Ganoung, Mrs. A. P. Perley, and Miss Elizabeth Logan. 1 
Thus was started the work which has since become St. Mary's 
Parish. 

After Mr. Wadleigh had left the parish, Dr. Paret, in 
February, 1870, noted a membership of 12 Sunday School 
teachers and 100 scholars, with an average attendance of 60. 
He made it a point to be present every Sunday at 2 130 and to 
impart "systematic instruction" after Evening Prayer. 

Mr. Wadleigh's rectorship was notable for the achieve- 
ments already recorded, and also for the influence of his strong 
and manly personality upon young men. He seems to have 
had exceptional power in winning and holding men, and from 
this time dates the earnestness of many of our most loyal and 
intelligent Churchmen of to-day. It is to be here remarked 
also that with his ministration may be said to have begun that 
era of "good Churchmanship" which has since characterized 
the parish. Since then the persistent type of teaching and 
practice has been what is commonly called "Moderate High 
Church." 

The late Mr. J. J. Crocker records that "Mr. Wadleigh 
preached but once in my recollection in the high pulpit of the 
old church, and that on the occasion of his first visit ; and 
never used the black gown, while Mr. Moore was accustomed 
to its use. Mr. Wadleigh preached extempore." 

Mr. Wadleigh resigned his rectorship here, to take effect 
April 1st, 1869, in order to accept that of St. Luke's Church, 
Germantown. 

1 Since the above paragraph was written Colonel Bmbick has 
removed to New York City, and Mesdames Dayton and Doebler and 
Messrs. Crocker, Jones and Dayton have been called to their rest. 




THE RT. REV. WILLIAM PARET, D. D., LL. D. 
Rector I 869-1 876 



DR. PARET'S RECTORSHIP. 

1869-1876. 



Division of the Diocese — The Parish in Prosperity. 

The Rev. Wm. Paret, 1 D. D., of Elmira, N. Y., was 
promptly elected rector at a salary to be not less than $2,000 a 
year and the use of the rectory, and entered upon his duties 
May 1st, 1869. Obviously, the first work to engage his atten- 
tion would be the completion of the church building. The 
Vestry secured permission from the Standing Committee of 

1 The Rt. Rev. William Paret, son of John and Hester Paret, 
was born in New York City, September 23, 1826. He prepared for 
college privately, and then entered Hobart College, from which he 
graduated in 1849 (D. D. 1867; LL. D. 1886). He was fitted for the 
ministry under the direction of Bishop William H. DeLancey, and 
ordained deacon in 1852 by Bishop Chase, acting for the Bishop of 
Western New York, being advanced to the priesthood in 1853. 

In 1852 he was called to the rectorship of St. John's Church, at 
Clyde, N. Y., where he remained till 1854. For ten years from that 
date he was rector of Zion Church at Pierrepont Manor, N. Y., and 
from 1864 to 1866 of St. Paul's Church at East Saginaw, Mich. He 
then was rector of Trinity Church at Elmira, N. Y., but resigned to 
accept the call of Christ Church, Williamsport. When he resigned 
this charge he did so to become rector of the Church of the 
Epiphany, Washington, D. C, where he remained till 1884, when 
he was elected Bishop of Maryland. He was consecrated in Wash- 
ington January 8, 1885. 

Bishop Paret married, in 1849, Miss Maria G. Peck, and subse- 
quent to her death, Mrs. Sarah Haskell (1900). He is the author 
of a number of works, among which are "St. Peter and the Primacy 
of the Roman See," "The Pastoral Use of the Prayer Book," "The 
Place and Function of the Sunday School in the Church," and 
"The Method and Work of Lent." By his counsel and influence a 
new Diocese of Washington was, in 1895, created out of the Diocese 
of Maryland, at which time he, in accordance with his preroga- 
tives, chose the remaining Diocese as his own, in which he has been 
Bishop for twenty-five years. [Ed.] 

39 



40 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

the Diocese to sell or mortgage such property of the corpora- 
tion as might be necessary to raise funds for the prosecution 
of the work already under way. At the same time it was re- 
solved to build only a part of the tower for the present. The 
Dorcas Society in the meantime was raising money for the 
chancel furniture, and subsequently, at the suggestion of the 
Vestry, devoted what remained in hand towards the pipe 
organ. This was built by J. G. Marklove, of Utica, N. Y., at 
a total cost of $2,000. ( ?) 

The first service in the new church, our present house of 
worship, was held on the morning of Christmas Day, 1869, 
the Rev. Dr. Paret officiating. 

It is interesting to note that the first visitation of the 
Bishop (Dr. Stevens) to the new church was made on the even- 
ing of July 10, 1870, when he confirmed a class of 47. The 
first person on whom he laid hands on this occasion was Miss 
Elizabeth Logan. Here, too, should be recorded the equally 
interesting visit of the Bishop on Wednesday, October 12th, of 
the same year, when several persons were ordered deacons and 
several others advanced to the priesthood. Among the latter 
was the Rev. Arthur Brooks, Rector of Trinity Parish, whose 
brother, the already distinguished Phillips Brooks, of Boston, 
preached the ordination sermon. 

The weekly routine of the parish at this time embraced 
services in Christ Church every Sunday at 10:30 a. m. and 
7 :oo p. m. ; on the first Sunday in the month at 9 :oo a. m. ; 
every Wednesday, with lecture, at 7 :oo p. m. ; every Friday at 
10:00 a. M. ; on holy days at 10:00 a. m. ; in the "mission 
chapel," every Sunday at 2 :30 p. m. ; Sunday School at the 
church at 9 :oo a. m. ; choir rehearsal, Wednesdays at 8 :oo p. 
m. ; sewing school at the chapel every Saturday at 2 :oo p. m., 
and "friendly meetings" every Friday evening. The average 
attendance at the last named was 25 girls. 

Summarized in a few sentences, the history of the present 
church building up to this time was as follows : It was first 
suggested by the Rev. Mr. Moore in 1862. The first contribu- 
tions towards its erection came from two concerts and a fair 



Dr. Paret s Rectorship 41 

held in the spring- and summer of 1864, the joint sum of which 
amounted to about $1,400. On June it, 1866, the Vestry de- 
cided to build. The corner-stone was laid by Bishop Stevens 
on Tune 2j< 1867. When a memorandum of indebtedness was 
made the month after the church had been opened for service, 
it was found that $16,889 was (1ilie - Of course, the building 
could not be consecrated while this remained unpaid. The 
Vestry resolved to sell the old church and the school house for 
$5,000. which sum should be applied to the floating debt of the 
parish. Soon after this property was offered to the German 
Romanists for $6,000, but they refused to take it unless they 
could get the rectory too. 

In 1869 or 1870 Dr. Paret had appointed Dr. William F. 
Logan 1 as Rector's Warden. Dr. Logan refusing a reappoint- 
ment in 1873, Dr. Paret then appointed Mr. James Van du Zee 
Brown 2 as his successor. 

1 Dr. William Fullerton Logan was born in Jacksonville, West- 
moreland County, Fa., August 14, 1826, and prepared for college at 
Dr. McCloskey's Academy, at West Alexandria. After graduating 
from Washington College, Washington, Pa., he studied medicine at 
Freeport, Pa., under Dr. Borland, and then took the four years 
course at the Western Preserve Medical University, Cleveland, Ohio, 
from which he graduated in 1851. He practiced medicine for some 
years in Freeport, Pa., and for a short time in Watertown, Wis., 
moving to Williamsport in 1859, where he purchased a drug busi- 
ness, in which he continued till shortly before his death, December 
20, 1892. 

While in Freeport he married, April 29, 1851, Louisa Weaver, 
by whom he had three children, Harry W.. Elizabeth and Mary 
Emily. 

He was prominent in civic affairs; was president of the Wild- 
wood Cemetery Company, a member of City Councils and twice 
elected Mayor (1867 and 1878). He was appointed a member of 
Governor Bigler's staff, with rank of Lieutenant Colonel, 
and during the Civil War acted as examining surgeon. He was in- 
terested in Masonry and a charter member of Baldwin II Com- 
mandery, No. 22, Knights Templar. 

Dr. Logan was a member of Christ Church Vestry from 1863 
till 1891. He was appointed Rector's Warden in 1869, 1870, 1871, 
and 1872, but in 1873 refused a reappointment. 

2 James Van du Zee Brown was born in Hartford, Washington 



42 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

An event of momentous interest to all our parishes and 
missions throughout the central part of the State was the 
division of the Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1871, and the erec- 
tion of a new Diocese. This step had, of course, been under 
discussion for a long - time. It was first brought forward in 
the convention of 1866, the year after the organization of the 
Diocese of Pittsburg. Owing to the absence of the Bishop 
(Dr. Stevens), on account of sickness, from this and the 
convention of the following year, the matter was postponed. 
In the meantime, however, a committee on division had been 
appointed, which reported in 1867, and was continued to the 

County, N. Y., March 2, 1826. He was educated in the common 
schools of Washington County, and when 17 years of age learned 
the printer's trade. Upon his coming of age he, with his father, 
purchased a flour mill at Angelica, N. Y., but in 1851 moved to 
Wellsville, N. Y., where he immediately engaged in mercantile 
business. He moved to Williamsport in 1859, purchasing the Upde- 
graff and Herdic flour mill, which he operated till 1866, when he 
sold out in order to devote his entire time to the lumber industry. 
As a member of the firm of Thomas & James Thompson, and 
later of Brown, Early & Company, he was exceedingly successful; 
but subsequent to 1881 his operations were confined to the West. In 
1864 he became interested in the Williamsport Water Company 
(with which the Citizens Water and Gas Company is affiliated), 
and was made its president two years later. When he took charge 
the company financially was in a precarious condition, but under 
his guidance it soon became prosperous and continues so to this 
day under his nephew, Henry D. Brown, who succeeded to the 
presidency on his death. In 1861 Mr. Brown married Carile Cone 
Higgins, who died November 16, 1902. Mr. Brown survived his 
wife about two years, dying, without issue, December 8, 1904. 

Mr. Brown was a vestryman of Christ Church from 1863 to 1904 
(Rector's Warden 1873-1901; Vestry's Warden 1901-1904), but will 
live most prominently in the memory of the city as the donor of 
the magnificent endowed library that bears his name. The Rector 
of Christ Church is, ex-officio, a member of the library's Board of 
Trustees. Mr. Eckel was the first rector of Christ Church to sit on 
this Board, and in the chapter dealing with his rectorship more 
detailed mention of the library will be found. 

A window to the memory of Mr. Brown was unveiled June 4, 
1906. His nephew, Edmund B. Piper, was elected to the Vestry in 
1904 and annually re-elected till he left the city in 1907. [Ed.] 



Dr. Paret's Rectorship 43 

next year. In 1868 the subject came up in dead earnest as 
a "burning question." The committee on division made an 
exhaustive report through the Rev. Dr. M. A. DeWolfe Howe. 
The action of the convention was spread over three days, dur- 
ing which the convention became deeply involved in various 
conflicting motions, amendments, and substitutes. The final 
outcome was the adoption of a resolution consenting to a di- 
vision on the "fourteen county line," but with such impossible 
conditions annexed as practically to defeat the end in view. 
This failure Bishop Stevens deeply regretted, because of the 
serious impairment of his health. By his address of 1870 the 
subject was freshly introduced to the convention, and he spe- 
cifically requested the division of the Diocese. The question of 
the dividing line was, as is usually the case, the point of con- 
tention. This had occasioned defeat before, and the Bishop 
expressed himself ready to consent to any line of division, pro- 
vided the original Diocese should contain not less than the 
five counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, 
and Bucks. It is interesting to learn that previously (April 
22d) the Vestry of this parish had adopted a resolution that 
"the interests and growth of the Church imperatively require 
a division of the Diocese as at present constituted, and that it 
is the deliberate and earnest judgment of this parish that such 
division should be on the five-county line." The convention, 
acting on the Bishop's suggestion, adopted this line, and the 
division was finally effected by the consent of the General 
Convention in 1871. The Primary Convention of the new 
Diocese met in St. Stephen's Church, Harrisburg, on the 8th 
of November following. Our parish was represented by the 
rector (the Rev. Dr. Paret) and Messrs. James H. Perkins, 
John White, and Oliver Watson. The Lord Bishop of Lich- 
field (Dr. Selwyn), the Very Rev. Dr. Howson, Dean of Ches- 
ter, and two other English priests, were honored guests of the 
occasion, the Bishop of Lichfield preaching the sermon. The 
name of "Central Pennsylvania" was selected for the new 
Diocese after a number of other names, including "Williams- 
port," had been rejected. The Rev. Mark Antony DeWolfe 



44 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Howe, D. D., of Philadelphia, and the Rev. George Leeds, 
D. D., of Baltimore, were nominated for the Episcopate, the 
name of the latter being placed before the convention by Dr. 
Paret. Dr. Howe was elected on the first ballot. His conse- 
cration took place in St. Luke's Church, Philadelphia, on the 
Feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28th, 1871, the Rev. 
Dr. Paret, rector of this parish, being one of his two attendant 
presbyters. Pledges amounting to $2,160 had been made in 
this parish towards the endowment of the Episcopate of the 
new Diocese. The first annual convention of the Diocese of 
Central Pennsylvania met in Christ Church, Williamsport, 
June 1 1- 13, 1872. 

During Dr. Paret's rectorship, besides the two Sunday 
Schools and the parochial school with 30 pupils, a sewing 
school with 35 pupils was carried on at the mission chapel 
(now St. Mary's) and a night school for men and boys, which 
numbered 40 pupils. On June 29, 1871, Dr. Paret organized 
"The Brotherhood of Christ Church," composed largely of 
young men, for the purpose of assisting the rector in Church 
work — a sort of anticipation of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. 
Its first officers were the Rector and Messrs. Martin Powell, 
F. E. Gleim, and J. B. Dayton. Three months later it reported 
19 active and 5 honorary members. By a system of district 
visiting, chiefly in the neighborhood of the mission chapel, 
the chapel attendance was much increased, and some of the 
members of the_ Brotherhood also assisted the Rector as teach- 
ers in the Mission Sunday School. By the efforts of this or- 
ganization also a room at Fourth and Market Streets was se- 
cured, where a library and reading-room were established. 
The financial depression of the panic of 1873, however, 
brought this enterprise to an untimely end. 

On January 16, 1871, a ''Church School for young ladies, 
girls, and younger boys" was started at 118 Market Street, 
under the charge of Mrs. Richter. It was "under the pastoral 
control of the Rector of Christ Church, and subject in all things 
to his authority." The prospectus declared that "every care 
will be taken to insure ample and thorough instruction to all 



Dr. Paret's Rectorship 45 

the pupils, and to carry them on to any degree of advancement 

that may be desired Religious truths will make part 

of the course of studies, and the pastor's influence be felt by 
his frequent presence." 

The Dorcas Society was organized November 24, 1871, 
with Mrs. John White as president, a position which she has 
held continuously to the present time. This society was "to 
provide material, make or repair garments, and attend to their 
distribution among the needy, and also to attend to any needle- 
work that may be asked of them for the use of the Church." 
Rooms were offered for the use of this guild by Mrs. Webb 
at 141 Pine Street. Soon after the meetings were held in the 
Vestry-room, and the next year in the Brotherhood rooms 
over the Post Office, on Market Street. The society was re- 
organized October 4, 1872, and the name changed to the 
"Ladies' Aid Society," by which it is still known. Its scope 
of work was broadened to include: "(1) Clothing and aid 
for the poor; (2) Altar-linen and surplices; (3) Care and 
improvement of the rectory; (4) Church and festival decora- 
tions; (5) Visiting of strangers, of new residents, of the sick 
and poor; (6) Sewing schools ; (7) Special parish work under 
advice of the rector ; and other kinds of work may be assumed 
from time to time." Each department was to be under two 
directresses appointed by the president. A "constitution" of 
eleven articles was adopted. (Parish Guide, October, 1872). 

After more than 21 years of faithful service in various 
capacities — Clerk of the Vestry, Parish Treasurer and volun- 
teer organist of the church — Mr. James Damant resigned 
these offices in April, 1873. From this time dates the incum- 
bency of Mr. J. J. Crocker as Clerk (afterwards Secretary) 
and Treasurer, which continued to the time of his death, April 
2, 1902, except that by resolution of the Vestry, May 4, 1897, 
the two offices were made separate and Mr. W. C. Robinson 
was then chosen to fill the position of Treasurer. 

Although the church had been a "free church" since 
the beginning of Mr. Wadleigh's rectorship it was not until 



46 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Easter, 1873, that the "envelope system" of church support was 
introduced. 

The professional services of a trained and experienced 
Church-musician were secured in the spring of 1873 in the 
person of Mr. Horace Hills, Jr., of Newport, R. I. Mr. Hills 
was paid a salary of $400 a year. He organized a double 
quartet, which continued to sing until the introduction of the 
vested male choir, Easter, 1888. Prominent among the mem- 
bers of the new choir in point of long and devoted previous 
service were Miss Marion G. Ruch, Mrs. A. P. Perley, Miss 
Elizabeth Logan, and Col. F. E. Embick. Judge Cummin 
was also a faithful member of the choir until his lamented 
death in 1889, a period of some 18 years. Under the skill- 
ful direction of Mr. Hills, the music of the services was 
greatly enhanced in dignity and beauty. In the summer of 
1875, at his own expense, the organ was equipped with the 
water-motor, which is still in use, but which afterward came 
into possession of the Vestry by purchase from Mr. Hills. 

Dr. Paret having been invited to the rectorship of the 
Church of the Epiphany, Washington, D. C, his resignation 
was presented to the Vestry on September 24, 1876, to take 
effect on the 4th of October. He was afterwards elected to 
the Episcopate, and consecrated Bishop of Maryland January 
8, 1885. 

The rectorship of Dr. Paret greatly strengthened the parish 
in every way. Prior to the financial depression of 1873, al- 
though the erection of the new church building had imposed a 
heavy burden of debt upon the parish, very large sums of 
money were contributed both for the reduction of this debt 
and for other objects. Altogether over $60,000 was given 
within a period of little more than seven years, an average of 
nearly $8,600 a year, besides $2,160 for the endowment of the 
Diocesan Episcopate in 1871, as noted above. Nevertheless, 
Dr. Paret declared in 1872, when the debt of the parish 
amounted to "some $12,000" — it had been $17,700 the year 
before — that "the financial prosperity of the parish is rather 
apparent than real." The salary of the rector for some years 



Dr. Paret's Rectorship 47 

was $2,40O, 1 and throughout this rectorship liberal contribu- 
tions were made for the maintenance of the mission chapel 
and other aggressive forms of Church work. 

A few hundred dollars were gradually accumulated for a 
"House of Mercy," but eventually turned over to the building 
fund of the City Hospital when that institution was started. 

In 1 87 1 special offerings were made for the relief of suf- 
ferers by the Chicago fire, $186.00, and the forest fires in Wis- 
consin, $86.00, and Michigan, $86.10. 

The corner-stone of the Church of the Good Shepherd, 
Upper Fairfield, in which the clergy and people of Christ 
Church have always taken a warm interest, was laid on Sep- 
tember 12, 1874. 

It is not only the financial figures, however, that bear 
witness to Dr. Paret's fruitful ministry, but those also which 
relate to the spiritual growth of the Kingdom. Among such 
items may be noted the fact that the sacrament of Holy Bap- 
tism was administered to 285 persons during this period, 193 
were confirmed, and the number of confirmees increased from 
124 in 1869 to 218 in 1873. 

Almost immediately after the beginning of his rectorship 
the parish school took the form of a free night school for boys. 
In this Mrs. Paret was the chief teacher and had the help of 
others, but the school was soon abandoned. 

1 At a time of financial difficulty, Dr. Paret generously offered 
to accept a certain reduction in his salary, if absolutely neces- 
sary, sooner than abandon the work in which he was so interested. 
[Ed.] 




THE REV. JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, S. T. D. 
Rector 1876-1887 



DR. HOPKINS'S RECTORSHIP. 

1876-1887. 



Efforts to Divide the Diocese — Consecration of the 
Church — The Parish Building and Other Improve- 
ments — Dr. Hopkins's Position in the Church. 

The Rev. Alfred Evan Johnson was chosen locum tenens 
of the parish until Dr. Paret's successor should be selected and 
assume charge. On October 21, 1876, the Rev. John Henry 
Hopkins, 1 S. T. D., of Plattsburg, N. Y., was elected rector 

1 The Rev. John Henry Hopkins was born in Pittsburg October 
28, 1820, his father being John Henry Hopkins, later Bishop of 
Vermont, of mingled English and Irish blood, and his mother, Melu- 
sina (Mueller) Hopkins, the daughter of a wealthy Hamburg mer- 
chant. To the strains of blood that were united in him was per- 
haps due the versatility for which he was noted. He accompanied 
his parents to Boston and then to Vermont, where at the age of 
14 he was a "tutor in his father's Vermont Episcopal Institute," 
hearing classes in Latin and French and "doing his share of the 
flogging." He graduated in 1839 with honors from the University 
of Vermont, after which he assisted his father till the school was 
closed in 1840. He was a tutor to Bishop Elliot's sons in Savannah 
in 1843, and a reporter on the New York "Courier and Enquirer" 
in 1847, in which year he also entered the General Theological 
Seminary, graduating in 1850. He was ordained deacon by Bishop 
Whittingham, in Trinity Church, June 30, 1850, and resolved to de- 
vote his life to Church journalism. The "Church Journal," first 
issued in 1853 under his direction, was the child of this resolution 
and the first Church journal worthy of the name in the country. 
Till 1867, when, on the death of his father, he sold it, Dr. Hopkins 
used the "Journal" to advocate the Catholic faith as he perceived 
it. During the years 1868-1872 he devoted himself to writing the 
life of his father, and having been elected rector of Plattsburg, 
N. Y., was induced by the Bishop to consent to be ordained priest. 
His ordination took place June 23, 1872. He had in 1845 received 
his M. A. from his Alma Mater, and in 1873 (or 1874) he received 
from Racine College the degree of S. T. D. He resigned the rec- 

49 



50 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

at a salary of $2,000 and the use of the rectory, and a month 
later (November 19), having accepted the election condition- 
ally, Dr. Hopkins made the parish a visit and preached in the 
church for the first time. He subsequently signified his full 
acceptance, and his rectorship began on the 10th of De- 
cember. 

In his biography we are told that "the people who came to 
the early celebration of the Eucharist that Christmas morning 
were surprised to see that so notorious a Ritualist as Dr. Hop- 
kins had not changed the violet altar-cloth proper for Advent 
for a white one!" 

At the instance of the new rector, steps were at once 
taken for the amendment of the parish charter, and a rear- 
rangement of the lectern and choir seats was effected. 

A subject in which Dr. Hopkins from the first evinced 
the liveliest interest and energy was the division of the Diocese 
of Central Pennsylvania. To this end he submitted to the 
Vestry in March, 1877, a letter which he purposed sending the 
Bishop, in whose statements he desired and secured the con- 
currence of the Vestry. Indeed, before he accepted the parish, 
on the occasion of his visit in November, he set forth his de- 
termination to endeavor to secure the division of the Diocese, 
and made it the condition of his acceptance that the parish 
should further his efforts, and also that Christ Church should 
be offered to the Bishop of the new Diocese for his cathedral. 
In the event of accomplished division Dr. Hopkins announced 
his intention to resign and leave the Diocese. Bishop Howe 

torship of Plattsburg to accept the rectorship of Christ Church, which 
he resigned October 1, 1887, expecting to occupy a chair at the General 
Theological Seminary, but pending a decision in the dispute which 
arose in regard to the validity of his election, died at Troy, N. Y., 
August 14, 1891. 

In addition to the "Church Journal," the "Life" of his father, 
etc., Dr. Hopkins was the author of a number of hymns and hymn 
tunes, and a designer of ecclesiastical ornament. It is, however, 
as a powerful and fearless controversialist in the American Church 
during a crisis of her life that he will probably be best remem- 
bered. [Ed.] 



Dr. Hopkins's Rectorship 51 

successfully thwarted all the efforts of Dr. Hopkins to secure 
division. To have created the Diocese of Williamsport would 
have required nearly doubling the assessment for episcopal sup- 
port from fifty cents a communicant to about one dollar. 
Unfavorably as this was regarded in some quarters, in 1882, 
when it was voted to ask for an assistant bishop instead of 
dividing the Diocese, the assistant bishop's salary was fixed 
at $4,000, which required an assessment of one dollar and 
thirty-five cents ! 

The biography of Dr. Hopkins (by the Rev. Charles F. 
Sweet) records that when the parishes of the Diocese were 
asked by circular, "How do you think the need of more epis- 
copal oversight can be supplied?" only ten per cent, of them 
replied, "By an assistant bishop," while eighteen per cent, 
replied, "By a division of the Diocese." Ignorant apparently 
of the stipulations made with the Vestry of Christ Church, by 
which Dr. Hopkins promised to leave the Diocese if it were 
divided, Bishop Howe and others suspected him of an ambi- 
tion to become the first bishop of the new see. 

Dr. Hopkins's efforts in this direction lasted for several 
years, and at one time seemed almost certain of success. He 
had secured pledges for the episcopal endowment fund 
amounting to about $30,000; but neither his arguments nor his 
energetic action could overcome the opposition of "the powers 
that be." 

Energetic measures extending over many years for the 
extinction of the church debt were finally crowned with suc- 
cess and the consecration of the church made possible. Ac- 
cordingly this beautiful and impressive ceremony took place 
on the 1 8th of June, 1879, nearly ten years after the church 
building had been first opened for divine service. The ac- 
count of the consecration service, published in the "Gazette 
and Bulletin" the next day, is of such interest to-day as to de- 
serve reproduction : 

"The consecration of Christ Church yesterday morning 

was one of the finest services ever seen in this city. 

At 10 o'clock the procession of Bishop and surpliced 



52 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

clergy started from the rectory, left front, moving along 
Third Street to Academy, then to Fourth, and along 
Fourth to the church. On reaching the middle door of 
the church, the procession opened, and the Bishop — the 
pastoral staff being borne before him by the Rector of the 
church — advanced to the door, which was firmly struck 
three times with the pastoral staff. It was then immedi- 
ately opened from within by the Wardens and Vestry, 
through whose double line the Bishop and clergy ad- 
vanced. Owing to the Bishop's extreme hoarseness, the 
processional psalm was sung by the clergy, one of them 
taking the first half of each verse, to the Eighth Gre- 
gorian tone, first ending, with intonation ; and the rest of 
the clergy responding, completing the melody of the chant ; 
the organ and choir joining in at the Gloria Patri. The 
Wardens and Vestry closed in behind the clergy, and ad- 
vanced as far as the rood-screen, where they remained 
standing until the Bishop and clergy were seated. The 
instrument of donation and request, signed by the Rector, 
Wardens and Vestry of the parish, and sealed with the 
parish seal, was then read by the Rector, the Rev. Dr. 
Hopkins, the Vestry still standing before him. As he 
handed the document to the Bishop the Vestry went to 
their seats. The Bishop proceeded with the consecration 
service, though able to articulate only with the greatest 
difficulty. The sentence of consecration was read by the 
Rev. Cyrus H. Knight, Rector of St. James's Church, 
Lancaster, Pa. 

Morning Prayer was begun by the Rev. Edward M. 
Pecke, Rector of St. Clement's Church, Wilkes-Barre, the 
Rev. F. Duncan Jaudon, Rector of St. James's Church, 
Muncy, taking the psalter ; the Rev. Geo. C. Foley, Rector 
of Trinity Church in this city, reading the first lesson ; the 
Rev. Geo. P. Hopkins, of Stevensville, Bradford County, 
the second lesson, and the Rev. Louis H. Zahner, Rector 
of St. Paul's Church, Bloomsburg, taking the creed and 
prayers. The Communion Service was begun by the Rev. 



Dr. Hopkins's Rectorship 53 

Dr. Yarnall, Rector of St. Mary's Church, Philadelphia, 
and who was Rector of Christ Church about 35 years ago. 
He was assisted in the epistle by the Rev. J. H. Black, of 
Williamsport, a successor of Dr. Yarnall in the rectorship, 
and in the gospel by the Rev. Dr. Paret, the immediate 
predecessor of the present rector. Dr. Paret also preached 
the sermon from the words (John ii:2o) : "Then said the 
Jews : Forty and six years was this temple in building." 
The sacredness of the temple was shown to be due not to 
the founder or builder, King Herod, who was an uncom- 
monly wicked man ; nor was it due to the gifts made to it, 
for it was the altar that sanctified the gift, and not the 
gift that sanctified the altar ; nor was it due to the purity 
of the ritual, for no degree of impurity or corruption could 
destroy that sacredness. It was holy because God ac- 
cepted it, and His acceptance made it holy, and His abid- 
ing presence consecrated the building itself, and the gifts 
made, and the worship offered at its altar. And it was 
just "forty and six years" since the services of the Church 
had begun in Williamsport, building up the spiritual tem- 
ple of true believers. As the preacher gave utterance to 
the tender reminiscences of his past rectorship here, his 
emotion almost overcame him ; and great numbers of his 
friends among the crowded congregation were equally 
moved. 

After the offertory (which was devoted to Diocesan 
missions), the Rev. Dr. Yarnall celebrated, aided in the 
distribution by the Rev. Mr. Black and the Rev. Dr. 
Paret. 

At the close of the service, after the special prayer, the 
Bishop gave the blessing of peace, standing in front of the 
altar and holding the pastoral staff in his left hand, while 
his right hand was lifted in benediction. 

The Bishop and clergy left the church in procession, 
moving down the broad alley, the Bishop closing the line, 
and all returning to the rectory, the congregation remain- 
ing in their places until the clergy had passed out. Be- 



54 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

sides those mentioned above, the Rev. John Hewitt, of 
Bellefonte, and the Rev. William Morrall, of Montours- 
ville, were present in their robes, making twelve in all 
besides the Bishop. 

The pastoral staff which was borne before the Bishop 
by the Rector was of carved oak, having on the sides of 
the crook fourteen jewels (jasper, malachite, agate, lapis 
lazuli, and white cornelian), and in the centre of the crook 
the Chi Rho in silver, set with nearly an hundred crystals. 
The upper part of the straight staff was cased in purple 
silk, fringed. It was placed in a rest made for it in the 
Bishop's chair, and will be reserved for the use of the 
future Bishop of Williamsport. 

The floral decoration was chaste and beautiful. Be- 
sides the font, and the altar cross and vases, the white 
altar cloth was lined all round its edge with exquisite 
roses, besides a centre piece of the same ; and the lectern 
and bishop's chair were not forgotten. The new rood- 
screen was lit up with its fiery cross and its colored lights, 
and flowers and greenery crested it with additional beauty 
above. 

The music was admirable, the choir being at their best, 
and the whole congregation joining in the hymns, espe- 
cially in Old Hundred, which filled the church with its 
volume of sound. 

The day was as glorious a day as June can produce. 
Nothing — except the serious hoarseness of the Bishop — 
marred the delightful perfection of the service from begin- 
ning to end. An abundant and elegant collation was 
given by the ladies of the parish at the house of Mr. 
James V. Brown to the Bishop and clergy and invited 
guests, and from 3 to 5 p. m. a general reception was held 
there, hundreds of Church people of both parishes and 
their friends coming in to pay their respects to the Bishop 
and to congratulate all concerned on the happy services 
of the day." 
The certificate of consecration, at Bishop Howe's sug- 



Dr. Hopkins's Rectorship 55 

gestion, was framed and hung in the vestry-room, where it 
may still be seen. 

Beginning with April, 1881, steps were taken for the erec- 
tion of a "Sunday School Building" or Parish House. The 
plans presented to the Vestry by Dr. Hopkins were approved 
in the main, but it was not until the spring of 1883 that the 
work was begun. The sum of $8,000 was raised by subscrip- 
tion for this purpose. The building was completed in the fall 
of 1883, at a cost of $8,500. 

The next year the Ladies' Aid Society tiled the floor of 
the church at an expense of $1,200. This was a notable un- 
dertaking, carried on with great enthusiasm. In October, 
1884, it was decided to heat the church with steam. The tiling 
and introduction of heating apparatus cost $3,222.75. 

It will be possible here only to sketch summarily some of 
the more conspicuous achievements of this rectorship. Many 
changes were made in the furnishings and decoration of the 
chancel. 

Dr. Hopkins's gifts as an artist in correct and scholarly 
designs for churches and church furniture were of a high 
order, and his mark was left upon the Church wherever he 
served. His influence was widely felt in the Church at large 
and may be traced also in Williamsport outside the parish, as, 
for example, in some chastely wrought tombs in Wildwood 
Cemetery, and elsewhere. It is difficult to say whether Dr. 
Hopkins was most widely appreciated as scholar, writer, 
preacher, controversialist, musician, poet, or artist, because he 
was a man of "many parts" and excelled in all. 

To Dr. Hopkins can be credited the canopied episcopal 
chair and prayer-desk, the altar and reredos (the latter after 
his time altered somewhat and completed with painted panels), 
and the massive rood-screen (which cost $400). Allusions to 
some of the chancel furniture that he had introduced will be 
found in the newspaper account of the consecration, already 
given. The pastoral staves of the Bishops of Central Penn- 
sylvania (now Bethlehem), and Wisconsin (now Milwaukee), 
were also designed by him. 



56 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

He was a zealous Churchman and indefatigable worker, a 
simple-minded man of God, a sympathetic, kindly-mannered 
friend of "all sorts and conditions of men," especially of the 
poor and of little children, an able champion of the Catholic 
Faith and an active propagandist of the Church. He never 
married, and well past middle age when he became rector of 
Christ Church, was always understood to have religiously 
adopted a celibate life. He is said, moreover, to have always 
worn the tonsure — that is, the shaven crown of a monk — and 
a full beard. 

During his time the debt on the Wadleigh Memorial 
Chapel, now St. Mary's, was paid off, and in 1886 a lot was 
bought in "Rocktown," now South Williamsport, for the erec- 
tion of another chapel. Here St. John's Chapel was built and 
opened in the spring of 1887, the building and lots having cost 
nearly $2,ooo. 1 The missions were worked by deacons who 
lived with the rector. The rectory was regarded as a clergy- 
house for a religious community, and in order to make possible 
this ideal of clerical life and service a third story was added to 
the building. Chief among the clergy who served in the city 
and neighborhood under the arrangement were the Rev. 
Charles E. Dobson, the Rev. Enos J. Balsley, and the Rev. 
William Louis Woodruff. 

One of the events of the year in those days still pleasantly 
remembered by former scholars was the annual union service of 
the Sunday Schools of the parish in the parish church, when, 
brave with banners and joyous with song, the chapel scholars 
joined the school of Christ Church and, after a hearty service, 
were addressed by their beloved Rector. This custom served 
well to develop a sense of unity in the different parts of the 
parish. 

The rectorship of the Rev. Dr. Hopkins ended October 1, 
1887, having extended over nearly eleven years, beginning De- 
cember 10th, 1876. It was the longest in the history of the 
parish. "Christ Church," writes his biographer, the Rev. 

1 There seems to be no doubt that Dr. Hopkins paid for the lots 
(there were two of them) himself. [Ed.] 



Dr. Hopkins's Rectorship 57 

Charles F. Sweet, in "A Champion of the Cross," "had grown 
so strong during his rectorship that he felt he was not able 
longer, at the age of sixty-seven, with the difficulty he had in 
walking, and his weakened eyesight, to give the work the at- 
tention it needed, and therefore, after his election to a profes- 
sorship in the General Theological Seminary, he resigned his 
rectorship. 1 More than eleven hundred had been baptized, 
and five hundred and forty-six had been confirmed during his 
eleven years in Williamsport. The church had been adorned 
and enriched ; two handsome mission chapels had been built, 
besides the new Sunday School and Guild Hall, from his de- 
signs ; and, besides, he had become personally responsible for 
the building of the Church of St. Alban, at Peale, mentioned 
in his letters. 

"The night before he departed a reception was given him, 
which all the parish attended, and many others. A large sum 
of money was given him as a last token of esteem, and so, with 
tears, he separated from his well-loved people." 

Shortly before this time the Alumni Association of the 
General Theological Seminary, New York, had established and 
endowed the "chair of the evidences of revealed religion," to 
which the Rev. Dr. Dean had been elected as the first incum- 

lDr. Hopkins tendered his resignation September 13, 1886, to 
take effect, in order that the Vestry need not be hurried in select- 
ing his successor, one year from that time, or on October 1, 1887. 
In his letter he adds: "But it is expressly asked as a personal 
kindness to me that before this resignation takes effect the in- 
cumbrance on the Wadleigh Memorial Chapel be removed, so that 
I may see it consecrated before my rectorship ceases." The Vestry 
postponed action on his resignation for a week, and then, when ac- 
cepting it, agreed to assume the debt of the Wadleigh Chapel within 
the time specified. The chapel was accordingly consecrated on 
October 1, 1887, Dr. Nelson Somerville Rulison, Assistant Bishop of 
Central Pennnsylvania, officiating. 

The parish having lacked an assistant clergyman for some six 
months, the Rev. W. L. Woodruff was immediately secured to help 
Dr. Hopkins, whose infirmities began to press heavily upon him, 
and remained under Mr. Graff, who assumed office in January, 1888. 
[E3d.] 



58 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

bent, the second choice falling on Dr. Hopkins. Dr. Dean 
lived less than three years after his election, and upon his 
death Dr. Hopkins was elected by a large majority to the 
vacant professorship. "The election to the Alumni Lecture- 
ship was rejected by the Trustees, the votes being equally di- 
vided. Thus it was that the old scores against him were paid 
off. In the winter of 1887-88 he visited California, and spent 
some happy weeks with his brother Caspar, at Pasadena. The 
election was repeated, and once more it was rejected. Thus 
was closed ruthlessly the public career of this able, brilliant, 
and self-sacrificing son of the Church after a suspense of two 
years, which effectually shut him out from all occupations." 1 It 
should be added in fairness that a prolonged disagreement 
had arisen between the authorities of the Seminary and the 
alumni regarding the conditions under which the chair was to 
be filled, and this dispute the Alumni Association subsequently 
carried into the civil courts. Dr. Hopkins never had an op- 
portunity to fill the place to which he had been chosen. Pend- 
ing the settlement of the dispute he died, August 14, 1891, 
nearly four years after leaving Williamsport, in the home of a 
friend, Dr. Ferguson, in Troy, N-. Y. He was 71 years of age 
at the time of his decease. 

Without exaggeration Dr. Hopkins may fairly be pro- 
nounced to have been one of the most notable and widely 
known men that the American Church has produced. By his 
eminent abilities as an ecclesiastical statesman, although until 
1886 denied his long-cherished ambition to sit in the House 
of Clerical and Lay Deputies of the General Conven- 
tion, 2 he rendered conspicuous service to the Church at large 
as the adviser of many of its leading bishops and priests and 
as the author or promoter of many measures of far-reaching 

1 "A Champion of the Cross," p. 221. [Ed.] 

2 "In 1874 he was only a supplementary delegate and had no 
place on the floor as a member of the House of Clerical and Lay 
Delegates until, by the departure of one of the regular delegates at 
the very end of that momentous session, he was called to take his 
place for a few hours."— "A Champion of the Cross," p. 193. [Ed.] 



Dr. Hopkins's Rectorship 59 

importance. Among 'the latter may here be mentioned the 
canon of an appellate court drafted by him and adopted by the 
Diocesan Conventions of Springfield, Quincy, and Illinois, 
(now Chicago), "thus completing,'' after twenty years' work, 
as he wrote in his journal, "the organization of our first prov- 
ince, setting a model to all the rest of the Church in America." 
To him was also due, after an effort extending over more than 
twenty-four years, the reduction of the board governing the 
General Theological Seminary from between five and six hun- 
dred members to fifty-one besides the bishops. 

A paragraph from Mr. Sweet's biography (pp. 193-195) 
may here be fittingly introduced : 

"The parish was known as a High Church parish, and it 
was quite willing for Dr. Hopkins to lead it still further along 
the ways which were then so much spoken against. But his 
course was not so much in the way of advancing ceremonial 
as in deepening and enriching spiritual agencies. The ser- 
vices increased in number and variety, and soon the weekly 
and festival Eucharist became the rule in the parish. Even 
more frequent celebrations came later on, and doubtless, if he 
had not been so frequently called away from home, he would 
have established the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice. But 
there was no unusual ceremonial at these services. There 
were no candles on the altar, nor were the Eucharistic vest- 
ments used. The bread was 'fine usual bread,' and the chalice 
was mixed beforehand in the vestry. Even colored stoles were 
not used until, after some years, they were given by lay people. 
The choir was but the old-fashioned mixed choir, and there 
were no choral services. On Sundays there was an early cel- 
ebration, and at the usual hour followed the full morning ser- 
vice and sermon. But there was a depth of devotion apparent 
in these simple services which arose from an entire personal 
consecration to the service of the blessed Saviour and a full 
belief in His presence in the Catholic Church. His parochial 
activities were not fussy, and he was clear of that bane of 
modern active Church work — the formation of a vast ma- 
chinery of guilds and chapters for doing useless and useful 



60 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

things with equal efficiency. But he was everybody's pastor in 
the parish. True as steel himself and faithful to the spirit as 
well as the form of his vows, he had endless hope for others, 
never-ending patience with others' foibles or failings, unvary- 
ing readiness to listen to every tale of sorrow or of wrong, 
great gentleness in dealing with those who were trying to 
learn how to repent, breezy, fresh wit and good humor which 
blew away selfishness and downheartedness, and overwhelm- 
ing force for the insincere and the hypocrites. . . . His 
work was a great one. It was not confined to the city or 'to his 
own missions. He was always at the service of his brother 
clergy as far as he could be. He visited outlying and distant 
mission-stations ; he hunted up the sick and the wretched and 
forlorn ; he would travel for miles and miles over mountain 
roads to comfort a poor woman in distress. He would preach 
in country school-houses, administer the communion at night 
to communicants otherwise deprived of that privilege ; at one 
place he was known as 'the Methodist,' from the fervor with 
which he preached." 




THE REV. WILLIAM HENRY GRAFF 
Rector 1887-1896 



MR. GRAFF'S RECTORSHIP. 

1888-1896. 



The Flood of 1889 — Celebration of the Semi-Centennial 
— Further Indications of Prosperity and Zeal. 

The Rev. William Henry Graff 1 was called to Williams- 
port from the rectorship of St. Jude's Church, Philadelphia, 
and took charge of this parish January 29, 1888. His first 
"assistant" was the Rev. W. Louis Woodruff, who had begun 
his ministrations here under Dr. Hopkins and who remained 
until December, 1888. He was advanced to the priesthood 
May 10th. 

In the following March the new rector began the publica- 

1 The Rev. William H. Graff was born in Philadelphia, August 
1845, and during the Civil War served nearly three years with the 
15th Pennsylvania Cavalry (Anderson's). He graduated from the 
Philadelphia Divinity School in 1870. In the same year he was 
ordained deacon by Bishop Lee, and also priest by Bishop Stevens. 
While studying at the Philadelphia Divinity School Mr. Graff was 
lay-reader at the Church of the Ascension, Claymont, Del., and at 
Calvary Church, Brandy wine Hundred. During the summer of 1870 
he was assistant to Dr. Benjamin Watson at the Church of the 
Atonement, Seventeenth and Summer Streets, Philadelphia, and 
later to Dr. Henry G. Morton, at St. James's, Philadelphia. At 
Christmastide of that year he was called to the rectorship of St. 
Jude's, Philadelphia, where he remained for seventeen years, and 
until he accepted the rectorship of Christ Church, Williamsport, in 
1887. When he resigned, in 1896, Mr. Graff did so to accept the 
position of Vicar of the Memorial Church of the Holy Comforter, 
Philadelphia, which he still holds. 

Mr. Graff married, in 1870, Miss Edith M. Irvine, daughter of 
Charles and Ella Irvine, who died in 1902, by whom he had 
four children, two sons, John S. and A. Hewson, both deceased; 
and two daughters, Frances H. (now Mrs. Dr. M. T. Sime), and 
Ella Irvine, the latter living with her father. [Ed.] 

61 



62 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

tion of "Christ Church Messenger," which ran on continuously 
until March, 1894, and was revived under Mr. Eckel in 1897, 
but was discontinued in December, 1898, because under a new 
rule of the Board of Trade it was impossible to get adver- 
tising. 

When Mr. Graff became rector he found the following 
guilds already organized and at work : The Ladies' Aid So- 
ciety, under the presidency of Mrs. John White ; the Woman's 
Auxiliary to the Board of Missions, under the presidency of 
Mrs. F. R. Weed; St. Mary's Guild, under Mrs. Ann E. 
Stowell (now Mrs. A. P. Perley) as ''The Lady of the 
Guild ;" a men's guild known as St. John's Guild ; a Hospital 
Aid Society, with Mrs. F. E. Embick as secretary-treasurer ; 
and two important committees known as the Vestment Com- 
mittee and the Flower Committee. At Wadleigh Chapel, 1 be- 
sides the ''Committee of Management" and the Sunday School, 
they had a "Wadleigh Chapel Guild" and an "Industrial 
School ;" and at St. John's Chapel, besides the "Committee of 
Management" and the Sunday School, the "Bishop Hopkins 
Guild" and the "Ladies' Aid Society." Messrs. Charles V. 
Runkle and William Sweeley were lay readers for the two 
chapels, and the Vestry of the parish comprised Major J. H. 
Perkins and Mr. J. V. Brown as wardens, and Messrs. John 
W r hite, Edgar Munson, Charles B. Howard, Dr. William F. 
Logan, Judge Hugh H. Cummin, George L. Sanderson, Henry 
C. Parsons, Col. Frederick E. Embick, John J. Crocker, A. 
Howard Merritt, C. LaRue Munson, Allen P. Perley, and 
Frederick E. Gleim. That was in 1887. 

Soon after the beginning of Mr. Graff's rectorship ex- 
tensive alterations were made to the rectory, one of which was 
the addition of the part containing the study. These improve- 
ments cost $3,200. 

The vested choir of boys and men was introduced with a 
special service of admission to the choir on Wednesday even- 
ing, March 28th, 1888, and sang its first service Easter even- 

1 "Wadleigh Chapel," as "St. Mary's," became a separate parish 
in June, 1894. [Ed.] 



Mr. Graff's Rectorship 63 

ing, April 1st. The roster of the choir showed the following 
names : Trebles — Dayton Runkle, Robert Gilmore, Jerry 
Blue, James A. Heller, John A. Hollyhead, Frederick Zahn, 
Robert H. Stead, Harry H. Ryder, Oliver Grove, Fred. A. 
Perley, Charles Heathcote, Harry Whitman, David Caldwell, 
George Zimmer, John S. Graff, and Robert L. Stead ; Tenors 
— Messrs. Robert H. Munson, William Zahn, G. H. Parke, 
and A. P. Bishop; Basses — Messrs. J. H. Berkley, H. B. 
Woodruff, G. P. Crocker, and Newton Chatham. 

Mr. Graff's warm-hearted sympathy with the sick and 
poor made his rectorship notable for kindly ministrations to 
all in affliction. The purchase of two lots in Wildwood Cem- 
etery and the gift of one in the old Washington Street Ceme- 
tery, known as "Christ Church lots." provided a burying place 
for the poor. A comfortable reclining chair for the sick was 
also added to the parish equipment. 

The first year of Mr. Graff's plan of systematic offerings 
for missions, in the collection of which he was assisted by the 
"Missionary Staff" of women workers, yielded $392.69, almost 
the $400 he had hoped for. His plan was to "lump" the ob- 
jects together, and then to disburse the offerings as follows : 
Fifty per cent, to Diocesan Missions, 15 per cent, to Domestic 
Missions, 15 per cent, to Foreign Missions, and 5 per cent, 
each to Negro Missions, Indian Missions, the American 
Church Building Fund, and Theological Education. 

Mr. Woodruff resigned the assistantship near the end of 
1888, and the Rev. David Stuart Hamilton, a recent graduate 
of the General Theological Seminary, took his place the follow- 
ing June. Mr. Hamilton's salary was $600 at first, which was 
later raised to $800, and finally to Si, 000, when he was called 
to the rectorship of Trinity Church, West Pittston, at $1,200. 
He was influenced to decline this call by petitions to have him 
stay in Williamsport, which were signed by 81 of St. Mary's 
people and 97 of St. John's. A few months later, however, he 
accepted a call to the rectorship of St. Paul's, Columbia, and 
terminated his connection with Christ Church November 16, 



64 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

1890. 1 Meantime he had been advanced to the priesthood by 
Bishop Rulison, in Christ Church, on April 27th, 1890. The 
sermon on this occasion was preached by Mr. Graff and the 
candidate presented by the Rev. E. J. Balsley. Confirmation 
and the Holy Communion were also administered at the same 
service. 

During Mr. Graff's rectorship began the custom of having 
the winter session of the ''Convocation," afterwards (1889) 
called "Archdeaconry," held alternately in Christ Church 
Parish and Trinity Parish. During this time also the Rev. J. 
M. Koehler began to make occasional visits to Williamsport 
for the purpose of holding services and social meetings for the 
deaf-mutes of the city and vicinity. In 1889 the Woman's 
Auxiliary, on account of the long distances in the Diocese, 
began to hold archidiaconal meetings, each Archdeaconry hav- 
ing its own Organizing Secretary. Mrs. Graff was the first 
Organizing Secretary of the Williamsport Archdeaconry. 

A disastrous flood in June, 1889, did much damage to the 
church building and rectory, as throughout the lower parts of 
the city. It took a long time to recover from the effects of 
this calamity. The flood was so extensive that it impover- 
ished many families, seriously affected the fortunes and busi- 
ness prosperity of the most substantial citizens, and made no 
small number of the poor for some time dependent on the 
charity of other parts of the country. The Rev. Mr. Graff 
was a member of the Flood Relief Committee which handled 
and disbursed the moneys received from outside. The church 
building still shows the effects of the flood, and much of its 
furnishings had to be renewed. The organ also had to be re- 
paired, which was done by the organist, Mr. Hills. 

A summary by the Rector in the parish paper of what had 
been accomplished within a few months after this calamity, is 

1 Mr. Hamilton was succeeded by the Rev. Lansing Swan Hum- 
phrey, and the latter by Rev. Morris Washington Christman, on 
July 3, 1891. Mr. Christman's work at St. Mary's, which resulted 
in its becoming a separate parish, is recorded in the chapter, 
"Summary Notes; Wadleigh (St. Mary's) Chapel." [Ed.] 



Mr. Graff's Rectorship 65 

very interesting. He says : "Vestry-room vastly improved ; 
Sunday School room been made one of the prettiest in the 
city; infant school room newly furnished; tower vestibule en- 
tirely renovated and decorated ; beautiful brass eagle-lectern 
given as a memorial, and an exquisite brass font-ewer, one of 
the most elegant in the country; a piano added to the guild 
room ; and altar-cloths and antependia, far in advance of those 
lost in the flood, have come or are coming to beautify the 
chancel," and he adds, with evident pride and gratification, 
"Verily a new life seems flowing through the parish veins." 
To these notes should also be added the fact that the church 
was re-carpeted by the Mothers' Meeting at a cost of about 
$300, and that the pews were re-cushioned from a fund col- 
lected for the purpose by Misses Helen Stiltz and Elizabeth 
Parsons. 

The efficiency of the spiritual work of the year 1889-90 is 
indicated by the fact that the baptisms in the parish that year 
numbered over 100, and that 66 persons were confirmed in the 
Spring, divided among the several congregations as follows : 
Christ Church, 17; Wadleigh Chapel, 24; St. John's Chapel, 25. 

A second freshet, May 20-21, 1894, fortunately less exten- 
sive than the one five years before, did some damage, however, 
and made the necessity of a new organ more imperative. 

A Beneficial Association was organized during Mr. 
Graff's third year, which was intended especially for railroad 
men, mill men, laboring men, and, as the prospectus adds, "in 
fact, all classes." The initiation fee was 50c, the monthly 
dues 60c, with the promise of $5.00 a week sick benefits. 
Free medical attendance was to be available at all times, 
funeral benefits were to be assessed and a reorganization ef- 
fected every year with a pro-rata return to the members of any 
surplus contained in the treasury. Any man between 16 and 50 
was eligible for membership on producing a medical certificate 
of good health. The preliminary meeting was held November 
8, 1889, an d the association organized November 22, with 40 
members. The officers were : President, the Rector, ex- 
ofiicio; first vice-president, Mr. A. P. Perley ; second vice- 



66 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

president, Mr. Aaron F. Fry; treasurer, Prof. Samuel Tran- 
seau ; financial secretary, Mr. C V. Runkle ; recording secre- 
tary, Mr. J. E. Colket; physicians, Drs. Louis Schneider and 
L. G. Baker. A year later, 80 per cent, of the old members, 
68 in number, were re-elected. 

In October, 1889, the Sunday School library numbered 
300 books. Mr. C. LaRue Munson, who had become super- 
intendent of the Sunday School in 1882, served throughout 
this period and did much to stimulate interest in the study of 
the Church Catechism and other lessons by the gift of Prayer 
Books and other rewards of merit. 

Constant interest in the Williamsport Hospital and Home 
for the Friendless was shown by the Rector and parishioners. 
As already noted, extensive alterations were made to the rec- 
tory in 1889. The guild hall, or parish house, was heated 
with steam in 1890, and carriage sheds were built on the rear 
of the church lot. Ventilators were put on the parish house 
in 1890. An artistic and substantial brass pulpit in memory 
of Dr. Hopkins, the work of Oscar Luetke, was erected in the 
church by popular subscription of the parishioners, in 1892, at 
a cost of nearly $575. A portrait executed by Mr. Charles 
Crawford was also hung in the parish house, where it still is. 
The choir-room was enlarged in 1891. St. John's Chapel was 
moved forward on its lot in 1890. 

Chiefest of the material improvements which marked Mr. 
Graff's rectorship was the completion of the church tower at a 
cost of $5,300. The first gift towards this object was $100 in 
gold and came anonymously. Soon after it was announced 
that two members of the Vestry had agreed to give $500 
apiece. Later on it came to be known that these two donors 
were the wardens, Messrs. Perkins and Brown. The tower 
was carried up in 1891 to commemorate the 50th anniversary 
of the parish, 22 years after the building of the church and 12 
years after its consecration. The last named event had 
marked the extinction of the debt incurred by its erection. As 
Mr. Graff said, the completion of the tower was "a fitting- 
memorial of a half century's prosperity." 



Mr. Graff's Rectorship 67 

The celebration of the semi-centennial anniversary was 
held with great rejoicing on Quinquagesima Sunday, Feb- 
ruary 8th, 1 89 1. A reception was held on the evening before 
in the rectory to meet the Bishop of the Diocese (Dr. Howe) 
and Mrs. Howe, the Bishop of Maryland (Dr. Paret) and 
Mrs. Paret, and the Rev. George C. Foley, rector of Trinity 
Parish, and Mrs. Foley. It was attended by a large number 
of parishioners and other Churchmen and citizens of Wil- 
liamsport, notwithstanding the very stormy night. The morn- 
ing service at Trinity Church was given up the next day and 
the Rev. Mr. Foley and his people joined the clergy and 
people of Williamsport's mother-parish in their rejoicings. 
The services of the day were : Morning Prayer at 9 :oo 
o'clock; sermon and Holy Communion at 10:30; union service 
of the three Sunday Schools of the parish at 3 :oo p. m. ; and 
a union service of the guilds of the parish in the evening at 
7 :oo o'clock. 

The church was crowded for the morning service. In 
the procession were the vestries of Christ Church and Trinity 
Church, the choir, the reverend rectors of the two parishes, the 
assistant of Christ Church (the Rev. Mr. Humphrey), the 
general missionary of the Diocese (the Rev. S. P. Kelly), the 
Bishop of Maryland and the Bishop of the Diocese. The pro- 
cessional hymn was — 

"O 'twas a joyful sound to hear 

Our tribes devoutly say — 

Up, Israel, to the temple haste, 

And keep your festal day." 

Letters of regret for their absence were read from two 
former rectors, the Rev. Drs. Hopkins and Clemson, and from 
the Rev. Dr. Stone, Rector of Grace Church, Philadelphia, 
which had liberally fostered our Williamsport parish in its 
early days. Dr. Hopkins sent his blessing, and note was 
made that Dr. Clemson had entered into rest soon after pen- 
ning his letter. 

After a brief congratulatory address had been made by 
the Bishop of the Diocese, the Bishop of Maryland preached a 



68 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

strong, earnest sermon on the text: "As every man hath re- 
ceived the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as 
good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (I Pet. 4:10). 
The hymn, "Now thank we all our God," was sung as the 
recessional. 

The floral decoration of the church on this occasion was 
a notable feature, flowers having been sent from Philadelphia 
to grace the windows in memory of Chief Justice Lewis and 
Mr. F. C. Campbell. Mrs. Wiley, daughter of the former, 
and one of the first persons baptized in the parish, came from 
Bethlehem for the day ; as did also from his home Mr. N. 
Ferree Lightner, son of the priest who began Church services 
in Williamsport. 

Major James H. Perkins, who had been Vestry's Warden 
since 1867, died July 15, 1893. In 1894 Mr. Edgar Munson 1 
was elected by the Vestry as his successor. 

1 Edgar Munson was born April 21, 1820, in Greenfield, Saratoga 
County, N. Y., of New England Puritan ancestry. He was educated 
in the common schools in the neighborhood and at academies at 
Manchester and Bennington, Vt. He entered mercantile life as a 
clerk at the age of 15, and became a partner in the firm of Merri- 
man, Munson & Company, at the age of 27. In 1854 he became finan- 
cially interested in lumber, and in 1864, in company with Col. S. W. 
Starkweather, purchased mills in Williamsport, to which place he 
removed in 1870. Mr. Munson at different times was a member of 
the firms of John R. Cook & Company, Slonaker, Howard & Com- 
pany, and Starkweather & Munson, a director and president of the 
Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railroad, president of the West 
Branch Lumber Company, largely interested in the Kettle Creek 
Coal Mining Company, a director of the Lycoming Rubber Com- 
pany, president of the Williamsport National Bank and of the 
Citizens Water and Gas Company. 

On June 15, 1852, he married Lucy Maria Curtis, by whom he 
had three sons, Cyrus LaRue, Robert H., and Edwin C. He was a 
member of Christ Church Vestry 1874-1901, and Vestry's Warden 
1894-1901. His death occurred May 25, 1901. 

His son Cyrus LaRue was elected to the Vestry during his 
lifetime, and since his death his grandson, Edgar Munson, has 
also been elected to that body. 

A window to the memory of Mr. Munson and his wife was un- 
veiled on All Saints' Day, November, 1906. [Ed.] 



Mr. Graff's Rectorship 69 

One noticeable feature of Mr. Graff's rectorship was the 
corporate attendance at service from time to time of various 
lodges, military organizations, etc., on special occasions of 
public worship : such as, for example, Reno Post, G. A. R. ; 
Baldwin Commandery, K. T. ; the Twelfth Regiment, Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers, etc. 

An industrial school was started at St. John's Chapel 
about March, 1889. 

The parochial branch of the Woman's Auxiliary to the 
Board of Missions of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary 
Society, organized during Dr. Hopkins's rectorship, has 
throughout its long history been an important agency of the 
parish in fostering interest in the Church's larger work, and 
in contributing to its support by gifts of money and valuable 
"missionary boxes" packed with useful articles designed to 
supplement the meagre stipends of missionary priests in 
various parts of our land, or to help maintain schools, orphan- 
ages, and hospitals in the mission field at home and abroad. 
The estimated value of the boxes sent from this parish proba- 
bly amounts to thousands of dollars. The grateful letters of 
the recipients of this bounty from time to time are a sufficient, 
as they are also often a most touching, reward for the thought 
and labor and sacrifice expended in the preparation of the 
boxes. 

A Mothers' Meeting, held at first under the name of the 
"Woman's Evening Club," was started October 26, 1888, to 
give hard-working women a pleasant social evening with op- 
portunity for doing some "Church work," such as sewing and 
quilting, with which was combined a little reading and a short, 
bright service. 

An interesting side-light on the faithful diligence of the 
clergy at this time is afforded by the statement in the parish 
paper that they had eight appointments every Sunday and 
walked eight miles to fill them. Major Perkins and Dr. 
Saylor-Brown soon after put their horses and carriages at the 
disposal of the clergy on Sunday afternoon. 

The Ministering Children's League was organized under 



70 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Miss Mary Smiythe in May, 1890. Mrs. H. Packer provided 
the little girls with badges. The motto of the society was, 
"One kind deed every day." Some six months after their or- 
ganization Bishop Hare, of South Dakota, visited the parish, 
and the little girls became so interested in his Indian work that 
they decided to devote their efforts to aiding it, which they did. 

On January 12, 1895, a fire in the parish house damaged 
the guild rooms and roof to the amount of nearly $1,700, which 
was covered by insurance. 

It would be impossible in brief compass to do justice to 
the manifold and abundant activity of the various guilds and 
of individual parishioners during this period, under Mr. 
Graff's ceaseless and indefatigable leadership. 

On May 5th, 1896, Mr. Graff's rectorship ended, and the 
Rev. W. H. Burbank soon after became locum tenens pending 
the election of a rector. 




THE REV. EDWARD HENRY ECKEL 
Rector 1896-1 905 



MR. ECKEL'S RECTORSHIP. 1 
1896-1905. 



Mrs. Christman Set Apart as Deaconess — Consecration 
and Renovation of St. John's — Work In and 
Throughout the Parish. 

The Rev. Edward Henry Eckel, 2 to whose zeal and un- 
tiring energy Christ Church, Williamsport, is indebted for its 
interesting and painstaking history down to the beginning of 
his own rectorship, began his official connection with the parish 
on All Saints' Day, Sunday, November i, 1896. 

Immediately on Mr. Eckel's taking charge of the parish, 
the matter of repledging the whole parish for parochial ex- 

lThis chapter has been contributed by Miss Mary Smythe. [Ed.] 

2 The Rev. Edward Henry Eckel was born in New Orleans, La., 
November 5, 1862, and graduated from Rugby Academy, Wilming- 
ton, Del., 1880; B. A. from Delaware College, Newark, Del., 1886, and 
B. D. from the General Theological Seminary, N. Y. City, 1889. 
He was ordained deacon by Bishop Coleman, of Delaware, in Holy 
Trinity (Old Swedes') Church, Wilmington, June 16, 1889, and 
priest in St. James's Church, near Stanton, Del., May 28, 1890. 
He married Miss Anna Todd Reynolds, in St. Andrew's Church, 
Wilmington, Del., on June 27, 1889, by whom he has had three chil- 
dren, Edward Henry (1890), Elizabeth (1891) and Albert Reynolds 
(1895). 

Mr. Eckel was rector of St. James's Church, near Stanton, St. 
James's Church, Newport, and St. Barnabas's Church, Marshallton, 
Del. (the last named founded by himself), 1889-1891; then of 
Trinity Church, West Pittston, Pa., 1891-1896, resigning in order 
to accept the rectorship of Christ Church, Williamsport, in 1896. In 
1905 a call to the rectorship of Christ Church, St. Joseph, Mo., which 
he still holds, was tendered to and accepted by him. 

He was founder and first president of the Church Students' Mis- 
sionary Association, 1888; member Joint Diocesan Lesson Com- 
mittee for Sunday Schools since about 1895; member General 
Committee of the Church Congress since about 1902; member of 

7i 



J2 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

penses was taken up, and, at the suggestion of the Rector, the 
individual payment of the Episcopal and Convention Fund 
Assessment. In March, 1897, over 475 notices of this assess- 
ment were sent out, so that all confirmed persons, rich and 
poor alike, might realize their relation to the Diocese and its 

Advisory Committtee of Church Students' Missionary Association 
since about 1904; provisional deputy to General Convention from 
Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, 1897 and 1901; deputy to General 
Convention from Diocese of Kansas City, 1907 and 1910, in former 
of which, member of Committee on the State of the Church; dele- 
gate from latter diocese to Missionary Council of the Sixth De- 
partment, 1906 and 1907, and to the Missionary Council of the 
"Department of the Southwest" (Seventh), 1908 and 1909; ap- 
pointed secretary of the last named department in 1909, but de- 
clined; appointed delegate to the Pan- Anglican Congress from the 
Diocese of Kansas City, 1908. 

He was Examining Chaplain, Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, 
1898-1905; member of Committee on the Increase of the Episcopal 
Endowment, 1901-1904, and chairman of Committee on same and 
on Organization of Diocese of Harrisburg, 1904; member of Com- 
mittee on Diocesan Apportionment, 1902-1903; nominee for Bish- 
opric of Harrisburg, 1904; member of Board of Missions, Diocese 
of Harrisburg, 1904; Dean of Northern Convocation, Diocese of 
Kansas City, since 1905; member of Standing Committee (Kansas 
City) since 1906; member Diocesan Missionary Board (Kansas 
City) since 1909; member Diocesan Committee on Constitution 
and Canons since 1906, and chairman of same since 1909. 

He reorganized Pittston Library; organized Williamsport Bu- 
reau of Associated Charities (now defunct) ; was a deputy rep- 
resenting the city of Williamsport in National Conference of 
Charities and Corrections, N. Y. City, 1898 (?); a trustee The 
James V. Brown Library, Williamsport, 1904; is one of the organ- 
izers and directors of the Buchanan County (Mo.) Society for the 
Relief and Prevention of Tuberculosis, 1910; organized St. Luke's 
Mission, South St. Joseph, 1906, and is an active member of St. 
Joseph Ad Club. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity and 
Elks; member of Benton Club, Country Club, and Lotus Club, of 
St. Joseph. 

His eldest son, Edward Henry, Jr., who is a candidate for Holy 
Orders, has recently won the Rhodes Scholarship for the State of 
Missouri, and after three years at the State University will enter 
Oxford University this autumn (1910). [Ed.] 



Mr. Eckel's Rectorship 73 

Bishop. This work was done mainly by Miss Mabel Prior 
(now Mrs. Wilbur Sallada) and Mrs. W. H. Kilbourn. 

During his first year Mr. Eckel made a systematic visita- 
tion of the parish, entering his visits on a card catalogue in- 
vented by himself. In one set of cards the families are given 
alphabetically, with full information as to whether baptized or 
confirmed. Another set of cards gives the families by streets. 
This system is still in use and has proved of great value to the 
succeeding rector. 

To the various guilds of the parish was added by Mr. 
Eckel, in 1897, the Visiting Committee, with Mrs. C. LaRue 
Munson as Directress, and Mrs. E. A. Christman as Visitor-at- 
large. The parish was divided into thirteen districts, conter- 
minous with the wards of the city. The duties of the com- 
mittee were threefold, embracing the systematic visitation of 
strangers, the sick and the poor. Members of the parish were 
asked to make reports to the Directress and district visitors 
were to make their reports to her. 

An event of far-reaching importance, not only to the 
parish of Christ Church, but to the city of Williamsport as 
well, was the setting apart of Mrs. Eliza A. Christman as the 
first Deaconess of the parish, and the second in the Diocese of 
Central Pennsylvania. Her husband, the Rev. Morris W. 
Christman, Rector of St. Mary's, and a former curate of Christ 
Church, died August 28, 1896, after a brief illness, deeply 
mourned by his parishioners and throughout the city. His 
life was one of splendid promise suddenly cut off. Mrs. 
Christman had shared his labors to an unusual degree, and felt 
a desire to devote the rest of her life to the Church. After her 
husband's death she had returned to her family in Allentown. 
On January 28, 1897, she came to Williamsport to visit her 
friends, Mr. and Mrs. James S. Smythe. On learning of her 
desire to be a Deaconess, Mr. Eckel took up the matter with 
his usual enthusiasm, with the result that her visit of a few 
weeks ended in years of faithful service in the parish. She 
has also responded to many calls for help from the poor and 
distressed of the city. 



74 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

She was set apart as Deaconess by Bishop Talbot, May 8, 
1898, it being his first official act in the parish. What her 
work has been cannot be better told than in a letter from Mr. 
Eckel to the writer of this chapter : 
My Dear Miss Smythe: 

Although the record of Deaconess Christman's work belongs 
to the period of my rectorship, and therefore rightly falls into your 
hands for treatment, who are both her friend and mine, and will 
therefore do it justice, it will, nevertheless, I trust, be considered 
no impropriety on my part if I ask the privilege of saying a few 
words on the same subject. 

I shall get directly at the point if I say at the outset that I 
thankfully acknowledge that no small part of the success of my 
ministry in Williamsport, in whatsoever degree it may have been 
successful, was due to Deaconess Christman's intelligent and loyal 
co-operation. I don't know how I could have got along without her, 
especially after the first year or two's experience of her helpful- 
ness. I have always said I would rather have had her for an as- 
sistant than any graduate of the deaconess training schools, be- 
cause she brought to her work not only the native qualities of 
practical common sense and good judgment, and of intelligent sym- 
pathy with the poor and distressed, but also the ripening and en- 
riching experience of a clergyman's wife. She had shared in the 
thoughts and labors of her husband, whose greatly lamented death 
had occurred in August of the year I became rector, and knew 
beforehand what it meant to be a deaconess, as few women with- 
out that experience can know. She had the knowledge of men 
and women — aye, and of little children, although never herself a 
mother — and that was worth more than a course in a training- 
school could give her. She studied and worked with me for a 
little more than a year before being formally set apart as a dea- 
coness, but I was persuaded myself, and had little difficulty in 
persuading the Bishop, that her several years' experience as the 
helpmeet of her husband in his work was easily the equivalent of 
the other one year of technical training required by the canon. 

She was accordingly set apart as a deaconess in Christ Church 
by Bishop Talbot, Sunday, May 8, 1898, with a very beautiful and 
impressive service of ordination. She assumed, as she had a right 
to do, the uniform of her order, to which was added a heavy silver 
pectoral cross bearing the inscription, "From the First Deaconess 
of Central Pennsylvania to the Second," and the date — the donor 
being Deaconess Henrietta Goodwin. 

Thereafter, through the remaining years of my rectorship, 




MRS. ELIZA ANNA CHRISTMAN 
Deaconess I 898 



Mr. Eckel's Rectorship 75 

Deaconess Christman was my ever valued assistant. She was ab- 
solutely dependable. She was devout and conscientious to the 
highest degree, always 'Systematic and punctilious in her work, 
wise in counsel and cheerful in the face of difficulties and dis- 
couragements. Her goings in and out among the people soon 
taught Williamsport what the deaconess uniform meant. What a 
friend she was to the poor, what an indefatigable visitor to all 
sorts and conditions of men, what a ray of sunshine to the dis- 
tressed in hospital or prison, what a mother to all the waifs and 
strays of childhood and wayward girlhood! I cannot sufficiently 
express my admiration and appreciation of her helpfulness and 
efficiency. I thank God I had her with me. God bless Deaconess 
Christman — He has and will — and give the Church more of such 
"ministering women." 

Very sincerely yours, 

EDWARD HENRY ECKEL. 
Christ Church Rectory, 

St. Joseph, Mo., July 9, 1910. 

A branch of the Girls' Friendly Society was started by 
the Deaconess in January of 1900, of which she had the entire 
charge the first year. In February, 1901, Miss Alma A. Baird 
became the secretary of the society, which office she held until 
April, 1910. 

The custom, now thoroughly established, of holding the 
election of Vestrymen in the evening was inaugurated on 
Easter Monday, April 11, 1897. After Evening Prayer in the 
church, a general parish meeting was held in the parish house, 
when reports from the treasurer of the parish and all the 
various guilds were read. At the Easter parish meeting in 
1899 the parish was pronounced to be free from debt for the 
first time in many years. Congratulatory addresses were made 
by Mr. C. LaRue Munson, Mr. Edgar Munson, Capt. Sweeley 
and the Rector. 

The most important financial undertaking during Mr. 
Eckel's rectorship was the decorating of the church and the 
addition of the clerestory windows, under the charge of St. 
Mary's Guild. 

The following were appointed by the Vestry, June 4, 1900, 
to meet a committee from St. Mary's Guild, with power to 
act : Messrs. A. P. Perley, John A. White, C. LaRue Munson 



y6 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

and the Rector, Rev. E. H. Eckel. The committee from the 
Guild was composed of Mrs. A. P. Perley, Mrs. C. V. Runkle, 
Miss Lucy O. Scott, Miss Elizabeth Logan, Miss Anne Doeb- 
ler, and Mrs. Durant. 

The decoration was placed in the hands of the Tiffany 
Glass and Decorating- Company, and at the same time the ladies 
of the parish raised money for new carpets and cushions for the 
church. The total cost of the improvements was as follows : 

Windows • $ 210.00 

Bill to Tiffany G. and D. Co 2,250.00 

Carpets • 417.00 

Cushions 347-°o 

General repairs • 17848 

Total $ 3,402.48 

The church was reopened November 18, 1900, with a 
beautiful service, and in the evening the choir gave Garrett's 
"The Two Advents." 

Mr. Eckel being a man of unbounded energy and en- 
thusiasm, interested in everything pertaining to the Church, 
throughout his rectorship missions continually came to the 
front. He has the honor of being the founder of the Church 
Students' Missionary Association in 1888, while a student in 
the General Seminary, and as was to be expected, was always 
ready to preach and work for missions. At his suggestion, in 
the summer of 1899, Deaconess Christman visited every family 
in the parish, to obtain new or increased pledges for missions, 
which at that time were paid quarterly. 

At one time Mr. Eckel had under his charge St. John's 
(South Williamsport), Montoursville, Upper Fairfield, Halls 
Station and Jersey Shore, and a colored mission, known as the 
Church of the Epiphany. The latter was started June 17, 
1902, in a room rented for the purpose on the corner of Wal- 
nut and High Streets. 

A Very successful club for boys, known as "The Bishop 
Talbot Club," was organized during Mr. Eckel's rectorship, 
under the charge of Mrs. C. B. Farr, Miss Anne Doebler and 



Mr. Eckel's Rectorship yy 

Miss Elizabeth Parsons, the object of the club being originally 
entirely for missionary work and continued for six years. 
The first officers were George Reinhard, President; Boyd P. 
Betzel, Secretary. The charter members of the club were 
eleven, the number afterwards being limited to forty, and it 
often had a waiting list of twenty. The club never solicited 
money, earning all the money contributed themselves. They 
gave annually $5.00 to the Deaf Mute Mission; books, toys 
and money to the Lenten box of the Woman's Auxiliary ; con- 
tributed $50.00 toward the furnishing and papering of the 
parish house at St. Mary's (Wadleigh Memorial), and pre- 
sented two handsome prayer books to the parish church for 
the use of the Rector and the Bishop. For some time they 
served as ushers in the church, taking charge of the prayer 
books and hymnals. 

On the evening of the Conversion of St. Paul, January 
25, 1904, at a meeting of the Archdeaconry in Christ Church, 
was held a splendid missionary service, when the vested 
choirs of the city, Trinity, All Saints, St. John's, and St. 
Mary's, united with Christ Church choir in rendering the ser- 
vice. The procession of clergy and choristers was very im- 
posing, the singers numbering about one hundred and fifty. 
Mr. Frank Gatward, organist of Christ Church, arranged the 
service and was the precentor on the occasion, the organist of 
Trinity, Mr. Daniels, being at the organ. The speakers were 
Bishop Talbot, Archdeacons RadclifTe, Thompson, of Read- 
ing, Mr. Butts, Mr. Daughters, and the Rector. There were 
over eight hundred persons in the congregation and the singing 
of the missionary hymns was very inspiring. 

St. John's Chapel was consecrated by Bishop Talbot May 
9, 1898. 

In Lent of 1901, during the curacy of the Rev. James W. 
Diggles, the chancel of St. John's was enlarged by removing 
the old vestry room, to make room for the first vested choir. 
The work was mainly done by Mr. Diggles and Mr. Charles 
Palmer. The whole chancel was repainted by private subscrip- 
tion, and a Bishop's Chair was given. Capt. Sweeley pre- 



78 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

sented the re-table and a wooden cross for the altar, and a 
large Bible for the lectern was given by an unknown donor. 
The improved chancel was used by the vested choir for the 
first time on Easter Day. 

The Sunday School was a matter of very great interest 
to Mr. Eckel, especially the subject matter taught, he being 
a member of the Joint Diocesan Lesson Committee. He him- 
self was a diligent Bible student, the results of years of 
study being noted on the margins of one Bible, which he had 
rebound, and all these notes he carefully copied into a new 
Bible while here. He held Teachers' Meetings and catechised 
the school faithfully. 

January i, 1899, the Sunday School was changed to a 
graded school, with Senior, Intermediate, Primary, Home De- 
partment, and Deaf Mute Classes. The last named class was 
begun on November 13, 1898, taught by Miss Mary A. Gor- 
man, herself a mute, with an attendance of eleven. For a 
time the attendance of the school fell off after such a radical 
change, but time has demonstrated the wisdom of the graded 
school. The choir had formerly used the upstairs guild room 
for their rehearsals, but in September, 1898, it was moved down 
stairs, and the Primary, under the charge of the Deaconess, 
was taken upstairs. At this time the average attendance of 
this department was only about thirty. The Deaconess di- 
vided the school into classes and by much visiting the attend- 
ance was very soon brought up to nearly a hundred, the 
rooms being so crowded that the necessity of rebuilding of 
the parish house became apparent. 1 Her organist and assist- 
ant for many years was Miss Nan Lumley. 

In 1904 the Cradle Roll was started under the charge 
of Miss Sarah Augusta Wilson, comprising children up to 
three years of age. The mothers were asked to bring the 
little children on their birthdays with as many pennies as they 
were years old, the money being used for missions. This 
birthday offering is a custom still in the Primary and Kin- 

lMr. Eckel took this question up with the Vestry May, 1903, 
but nothing was accomplished. [Ed.] 



Mr. Eckel's Rectorship 79 

dergarten Schools. The Kindergarten Department was 
started in 1905, just before Mr. Eckel left, and was also under 
the charge of Miss Wilson, and has been most successful. 

Mr. Frederick W. Zahn, who had served the school for 
many years as Secretary and Treasurer, was made Superin- 
tendent of the main school in 1901. The same year Mr. H. 
C. Parsons became Secretary-Treasurer. These gentlemen 
have served the school faithfully ever since in the same ca- 
pacity. 

Mr. Eckel was an active factor in all matters pertaining 
to the Diocese. He was on the Committee for the Increase 
of the Episcopal Endowment Fund, the object of the endow- 
ment being to relieve the parishes, so as to liberate as large 
an amount as possible for the work of Church Extension. In 
a circular issued in January, 1904, in the interest of the $60,- 
000 endowment desired for the new Diocese, an address of 
Mr. Eckel was quoted. After emphasizing the opportunity 
given to the rich and well-to-do to do a good work for Christ 
and His Church, and that from such Churchmen the Church 
has a right to expect large contributions, Mr. Eckel insisted 
that the movement was a public one, in which every communi- 
cant should have a part. He said: 

"Can it be done, I ask again? Let me give you a hy- 
pothesis. Let us suppose. They tell us — the reports of 
1903 — that we have 19,000 communicants in this Diocese. 
Well, let us suppose a great many of these are non-wage- 
earners. Let us suppose many of them are children, and 
many of them are very poor, while some of them are so 
rich that they ought to do great things, and some of 
them are indifferent, and some of them, perhaps, are 
lapsed, and some of them are in Europe or some other 
equally inaccessible part of the world. Let us, to be 
perfectly fair and reasonable, lop off 11,000 of them. 
That leaves us 8,000 to do business with. Suppose, now, 
that three-fourths of these 8,000 — that is 6,000 — have an 
average income of not more than $600 a year. Suppose 
that three-fourths of the rest — namely, 1,506- — have an 



80 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

average income of $1,200 a year. Suppose that the re- 
mainder — 500 in number — have the comparatively muni* 
ficent income of $2,000 a year, and none of them more 
than this. Now suppose that the $600 people give us 
one per cent, of a single year's income — payable, if they 
choose, in three installments a year apart — only $2.00 a 
year, mind you; that would be $36,000 for the Episcopal 
Endowment Fund of the Diocese of Central Pennsylva- 
nia ! And suppose the $1,200 people gave us two per 
cent, of their income for a single year — payable, if they 
prefer, $8.00 a year for three years ; that would 
be $36,000 more for the Episcopal Endowment Fund of 
the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania! And suppose that 
comfortable little company of 500, who have $2,000 a 
year income, were to give three per cent, of their 
income — payable, if they choose, the same way — $20.00 
for three years ; that would be $30,000 more for the 
Episcopal Endowment Fund of the Diocese of Central 
Pennsylvania. And $36,000 and $36,000 and $30,000 
make $102,000 for the Episcopal Endowment Fund of 
the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, and the thing is 
done ! And there are no famishing babies in the working- 
man's home as a consequence, no sheriff's sales, no bank- 
ruptcies — and 11,000 other people to hear from." 
The division of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania was 
consented to by Bishop Talbot at the convention held in Trin- 
ity Church, Williamsport, June 14, 1904. 1 The Primary Con- 
vention for the new Diocese was held in St. James's Church, 
Lancaster, Pa., November 29-30, 1904. At this convention 
Mr. Eckel, as Chairman of the Committee appointed at the last 
meeting of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania to take all 
necessary steps for the organization of the new Diocese, pre- 
sented the rules of order for the Convention, He also pre- 
sented the report of the Committee for the Increase of the 
Endowment as follows : 

1 In the chapter, "Dr. Hopkins' Rectorship," an account was 
given of the previous attempts to accomplish this division. [Ed.] 



Mr. Eckel's Rectorship 8i 

Money from original fund $16,77148 

Pledges to Diocesan Convention of 1904 6,887.50 

New pledges since Convention of 1904 9,634.25 

Additional since draft of the report 1,082.23 

$34,37546 

Of this amount Christ Church, Williamsport, had in 
original fund, $2,610.00; in new pledges $3,122.50; a total 
of $5,73 2 -50- 

On the eve of this Primary Convention the Wardens and 
Vestrymen of Christ Church sent out the following circular 
letter, which is inserted here as an evidence of their apprecia- 
tion of Mr. Eckel and his work: 

Williamsport, Pa., November 2, 1904. 

At the forthcoming convention to organize the new Dio- 
cese, its most important work will be the selection of its 
Bishop. It would seem best that the choice should fall upon 
one thoroughly familiar with the Diocese and its needs, and 
in such health and strength that its entire field may be fully 
and frequently traversed and its work performed with such 
vigor as will ensure the best results. 

Well knowing his ability to fill that high office, we shall 
instruct our delegates to present the name of our beloved rec- 
tor, the Reverend Edward Henry Eckel, B. D., for the choice 
of the convention. He is 42 years of age, is a graduate of the 
General Theological Seminary in the class of 1889, and has 
been in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania in active service 
for thirteen years. He is of the type of Churchmanship accept- 
able to the people and to his brethren of the Clergy ; is a most 
excellent preacher, and indefatigable worker, and an admin- 
istrator of affairs such as will be needed in this important 
Diocese. His work in Williamsport during the past eight 
years has not only brought our parish to a state of usefulness 
and activity surpassing all that she had theretofore accom- 
plished, but has won for him the affection of his people and 



82 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

commanded the respect of his fellow citizens in this com- 
munity. 

We shall be glad to have your assistance. 
Signed, 

James V. Brown, 
C LaRue Munson, 

Wardens. 
Allen P. Perley, 
John F. Laedlein, 
C B. Farr, 
Frank C. Bowman, 
W. C. Robinson, 
John B. Irvin, 
Geo. P. Crocker, 
J. B. Dayton, 
Edward E. Shay, 
A. Thomas Page, 
H. Y. Otto, 
Vestrymen, Christ Church, Williamsport. 

Mr. Eckel's name was presented to the Convention and he 
received votes on the first eight ballots cast for Bishop, when, 
in the interest of harmony, he withdrew his name. 

On the ninth ballot the Rev. W. T. Manning was elected 
Bishop. He having declined the honor, a special convention 
was called at Harrisburg, in St. Stephen's Church, February 
I, 1905, when on the thirteenth ballot the Rev. James Henry 
Darlington was elected the first Bishop of Harrisburg. 

Mr. James V. Brown, the senior warden, died suddenly 
December 8, 1904. 1 Always interested in Church matters 

1 During Mr. Eckel's rectorship the Vestry suffered heavily 
from death, no less than eight members entering into their eternal 
rest: 1898— Mr. Henry Cooley Parsons; 1899— Mr. J. F. Starr; 
1901 — Mr. Edgar Munson; 1902 — Mr. John Jermain Crocker; 1903 — 
Mr. William Sweeley;1904 — Mr. John Elcock Jones, Mr. John Allison 
White and Mr. James Van du Zee Brown. All men who had worked 
faithfully and unselfishly, the loss to the parish was a true one, 
and the resolutions passed by the surviving members of the Vestry 
but reflected the sorrow felt by the entire congregation. [Ed.] 



Mr. Eckel's Rectorship 83 

and a warm friend of the Rector, he had during his latter 
years become also interested in public libraries, and designed to 
bequeath the larger part of his fortune for the establishment 
and maintenance of a library to be his gift to the people of 
Williamsport and vicinity. By his will the amount set aside 
for this purpose was $150,000 for a building, $10,000 for 
books, and bonds sufficient to produce an annual income of 
$10,000, a total bequest of between $400,000 and $450,000. 
The library, known as "The James V. Brown Library," was 
to be under the administration of a Board of Trustees con- 
sisting of five persons named bv the testator in his will, with 
the Rector of Christ Church, the Mayor, the Superintendent of 
Schools, ex-oificio, and one person elected by City Councils. 
By this provision Christ Church is connected for all time with 
the institution most dear to the heart of her senior warden. 1 

On the death of Mr. Edgar Munson, Vestry's Warden, in 
1 90 1, Mr. James Van du Zee Brown, who had been Rector's 
Warden, was elected his successor, and Mr. Eckel appointed 
Mr. John Jermain Crocker 2 Rector's W r arden. Mr. Crocker 

1 Mr. Eckel took much interest in the first meetings of the 
Library Board, and his successor, Mr. Jones, has throughout his 
rectorship been one of the most active members of the "Library 
Committee." [Ed.] 

2 John Jermain Crocker, son of John and Ardelissa (Dyer) 
Crocker, was born on August 12, 1839, in Warsaw, New York. Mov- 
ing as a young man to Williamsport, he was confirmed by Bishop 
Vail, of Kansas, in the old Christ Church, April 13, 1866, during the 
rectorship of Mr. Wadleigh. He was made Secretary and Treasurer 
of the Vestry in 1873, and six years later elected to membership 
in that body, being annually re-elected till his death, April 8, 1902. 
Though he resigned the treasurership in 1897, he held the secretary- 
ship to the end of his life — a term exceeding a quarter of a century 
by four years. He frequently served as lay-reader and on several 
occasions was a delegate to the Diocesan Convention. In 1901 he 
was appointed Rector's Warden by Mr. Eckel, which position he 
held at the time of his death. The Vestry, in the resolution they 
passed, paid a touching tribute to the faithfulness with which he 
had discharged the duties of his offices. 

Mr. Crocker was connected with the banking firm of Weed & 
Company for twenty years, and was identified with various other 



84 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

died within a year of his appointment, and Mr. Eckel then 
appointed Mr. Cyrus LaRue Munson 1 as his successor. 

business interests in Williamsport, serving in both Councils, and 
being active in various charitable undertakings. In 1869 he married 
Miss Elizabeth Ann Beer, of Mt. Clemens, Mich., who with three 
children, George Perkins, John Archdell and Mary Elizabeth, sur- 
vive him. The elder of his sons, George P., was elected in 1902 to 
the vacancy in the Vestry occasioned by his death. [Ed.] 

l Cyrus LaRue Munson, the son of Edgar Munson, of whom a 
biographical note has already been inserted, was born in Bradford, 
N. Y., July 2, 1854. He was educated in private schools and the 
Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, from which he graduated in 
1871. He read law in Williamsport with Allen & Gamble, and in 
1873 entered the Yale Law School, graduating with the degree of 
LL. B., July 1, 1875, on which day, though still under age, he was 
admitted to the Connecticut Bar. In 1875 he entered into law 
partnership with Addison Candor, as Candor & Munson, which 
partnership still continues. He was elected a lecturer on legal 
practice by the Yale Corporation in 1890, which lectureship he still 
holds. He received an honorary degree of M. A. from Yale in 1891; 
and in 1897 published a "Manual of Elementary Practice." In 1902 
he was elected President of the Pennsylvania State Bar Associa- 
tion, and in 1904 President of the Yale Law School Alumni Asso- 
ciation. 

Mr. Munson is a director, in many cases president, of a number 
of the large business enterprises of the city, among which are the 
Savings Institution of Williamsport, E. Keeler Company, Williams- 
port Iron and Nail Company, Lycoming National Bank, Williamsport 
Passenger Railway Company, Citizens Water and Gas Company, 
John N. Stearns & Co. (N. Y.), Burns Fire Brick Company, Eagles 
Mere Light Company, and the Scootac Railway Company. He was 
one of the organizers of the Williamsport Board of Trade, of which 
he is serving as president. 

A Democrat in politics, he received his party's nomination for 
the Supreme Court Judgeship in 1909, and though failing of elec- 
tion, received a majority of the votes outside of Philadelphia 
County. In 1910 his party was anxious to have him accept the 
Gubernatorial nomination, but his physical condition and business 
affairs forced him to refuse to permit his name being placed before 
the convention. 

Mr. Munson married, November 8, 1877, Josephine Anthony 
White, by whom he had issue, Edgar (1881) and George Sharp 



Mr. Eckel's Rectorship 85 

Upon Mr. Brown's death, in 1904, the Vestry elected Mr. 
Munson Vestry's Warden, and Mr. Eckel then appointed Mr. 
Allen Putnam Perley 1 Rector's Warden. 

Mr. Eckel's last official act in Christ Church, Williams- 
port, was to unite in marriage Helen Graves Runkle and Noel 
W. Smith. 

(1883). Subsequent to his wife's death, in 1889, Mr. Munson mar- 
ried, October 20, 1891, Minnie Wright Tuller. 

Mr. Munson has been a Vestryman of Christ Church since 1881; 
(Rector's Warden 1902-1904; Vestry's Warden 1904-1910). He was 
Superintendent of the Sunday School 1877-1892, a period of 25 years. 
During the years 1877-1882 this superintendency was shared by Mr. 
A. Howard Merritt. His eldest son, Edgar, was elected to the 
Vestry in 1908 and was made Assistant-Secretary in the same year. 
Mr. Munson was elected Chancellor of the Diocese of Harrisburg 
in 1906, and has been re-elected each year since that time. [Ed.] 

1 Allen Putnam Perley was born in Oldtown, Penobscot County, 
Me., on March 8, 1845; his father being a physician, Dr. Daniel J. 
Perley, his mother, Mary (Lovejoy) Perley. 

Mr. Perley received his education in the schools in the neigh- 
borhood of his birthplace, and entered mercantile life as a clerk. 
He moved to Williamsport in 1865, securing a position as book- 
keeper with George Zimmer & Co., planing mills. Four years later 
he purchased an interest in the firm, which he retained till 1873. 
Subsequently he was bookkeeper with Daniel W. Smith, and in 
July, 1874, bookkeeper for Slonaker, Howard & Co. In 1874 he 
purchased Mr. Slonaker's interest, the firm becoming Howard, Per- 
ley & Howard. C. B. Howard retiring in 1887, the firm became 
Howard & Perley. His lumber interests, both in the Northwest and 
the South, are extensive. 

In 1898 Mr. Perley, who had been a director of the West 
Branch National Bank, was elected its president, and the bank 
under his direction has since grown to be the largest and strongest 
financial institution in Northern Pennsylvania. In 1908 Mr. Perley 
was appointed Postmaster of Williamsport by President Roosevelt. 

Mr. Perley married, in 1869, Clara Lovejoy, daughter of Albert 
Lovejoy, of Gardiner, Me., by whom he had eight children, five of 
whom are now living. Subsequent to Mrs. Perley's death, in 1886, 
he married (1888) Mrs. Anne (Higgins) Stowell. Mr. Perley has 
been a member of Christ Church Vestry since 1883. (Rector's War- 
den 1904-1910). His sons-in-law, A. Thomas Page and William H. 
Crockett, are also members of the Vestry, the former 1892, 1900- 
1910; the latter 1909-1910, 



86 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

During his rectorship he baptized 310 persons, presented 
for confirmation 188 persons, married 61 couples, and buried 
104 persons. 

Mr. Eckel's Churchmanship was of the plain Oxford 
type. He was a Prayer Book Churchman, giving every fast 
and feast its due observance ; but, except on the high festivals, 
the services were of the usual plain, dignified character cus- 
tomary in the parish. His own manner in the chancel 
was most devout, without affectation — a prayerful man. 
His emphasis in saying, "Let us pray," was in itself a 
hearty call to prayer. With the approval of Bishop Talbot, 
he had the following collect mailed to every member of the 
parish, generally using it himself at the close of the Com- 
munion Service : 

"Let your requests be made known unto God." Phil. 4:6. 

Parish Collect. 

Approved by the Bishop of Central Pennsylvania : 
"My permission to use the Parish Collect is most gladly 
granted, and I deem it a privilege to endorse the use of such 
a useful and complete prayer." 

Almighty God, Who feedest Thy flock and callest 
Thine own by name, look down in mercy upon our Parish, 
that we may be cleansed from all our sins, and serve Thee 
with a quiet mind. Hallow and bless to us the Sacra- 
ments and services of Thy Church. Inspire our Clergy to 
show forth Thy truth by their preaching and living, and 
daily to minister according to Thy will.* Keep our com- 
municants in singleness of heart, from unbelief and world- 
liness, giving them grace, both in their homes and call- 
ings, faithfully to confess Thy Holy Name.* May all 
our children be taught of Thee.* Draw to the Cross 
those who are impenitent and hardened in sin.* And we 
beseech Thee, heal the sick; comfort the sorrowing; re- 
lieve the distressed.* Take our parish work into Thy 
keeping.* Move Thy people to give as Thou hast given 
to them, Fill the workers with the Spirit of power, of 



Mr. Eckel's Rectorship 87 

love, and of a sound mind. And while we plant and 
water, do Thou give the continual increase ; through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. 

(*Here intercessions may be made for special persons 
or objects.) 

Mr. Eckel had a card placed at the tower door, "Come in, 
rest and pray," and had the church open all day for private 
devotion, many not of our communion availing themselves of 
this privilege. He had daily services in Advent and Lent, and 
on the great festivals the services were as inspiring as elab- 
orate ritual and music could make them, accompanied by 
crowded congregations. In 1898 he instituted the custom of 
the Midnight Eucharist on Christmas Eve — a high celebra- 
tion with elaborate music and ritual. This service has always 
been largely attended and is evidently dear to the communi- 
cants of the parish. He was the first rector to introduce the 
use of wafer, or unleavened, bread. 

A very interesting and profitable service was held on the 
evening of Maundy Thursday — a service of self-examination 
and devotion in preparation for the Easter Communion. 

The cards now in the tower of the church regarding The 
Ceremonies of the Church, The Holy Catholic Church, The 
Anglican Church and The Apostolic Succession, were placed 
in position by Mr. Eckel, as well as the appeal : "Whosoever 
thou art that enterest this church, leave it not without one 
prayer to God for thyself, for those who minister and those 
who worship." The photographs in the vestry-room of the 
rectors and curates of the parish were also obtained by Mr. 
Eckel. 

Mr. Eckel was a brilliant preacher, a clear thinker and an 
absolutely fearless champion of whatever he believed to be 
right. He also had the rare gift of accepting failure cheer- 
fully. He never bore malice and was always ready to try a 
new plan to forward the work of the Kingdom of God. 

He was also interested in all civic matters. It was at his 
instance that city elections ceased to be held in the saloons, and 
he organized the Williamsport Branch of the Bureau of Asso- 



88 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

ciated Charities, which relieved the parish of many of its pen- 
sioners. 

Mr. Eckel was chaplain of the Actors' Alliance and fre- 
quently ministered to members of the profession while in the 
city, and on more than one occasion prevented the presenta- 
tion of undesirable plays on the stage of the opera house. 

Mr. Eckel also belonged to the Ministerial Association of 
the city (in addition to the Clericus of our own Church), and 
at one time invited all the ministers and their wives to a tea 
in the parish house, which was followed by a fine musical ser- 
vice in the church, arranged by the organist, Mr. Frank Gat- 
ward, for their enjoyment ; one of the numbers sung being the 
"Sanctus," from Gounod's St. Cecelia, the solo being sung by 
Mr. William H. Deibert. 




THE REV. WILLIAM NORTHEY JONES 
Rector I 905 



MR. JONES'S RECTORSHIP. 1 
1905. 



The Girl Choir — The New Parish House — The New St. 

John's Chapel — The New Church Windows — At the 

End of Seventy Years. 

Immediately upon Mr. Eckel's resignation, the Vestry 
appointed a committee to secure his successor ; which com- 
mittee, on April 18, 1905, unanimously recommended that a 
call be extended to the Rev. W. Northey Jones, then Rector of 
Grace Church, Manchester, N. H. Accordingly the rector- 
ship was offered Mr. Jones, the call being renewed at a Vestry 
meeting held May 9, 1905, and accepted a few days later. 

Mr. Jones, 2 on taking charge of the parish, perceived im- 

1 This chapter has been contributed by the Registrar of the 
Parish. 

2 The Rev. W. Northey Jones was born in Portland, Me., May 
27, 1866, of old New England Puritan ancestry. He received his 
early schooling at St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H., under Dr. 
Henry A. Coit, the well known rector of that famous school. He 
entered Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., in 1884, graduating, B. A., 
1888, and immediately entered the General Theological Seminary, 
from which he graduated in 1891. In the same year he also re- 
ceived his degree of M. A. from Trinity College. While at the 
General Theological Seminary Mr. Jones acted as lay-assistant in 
Christ Church, Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, under Dr. James Henry 
Darlington, who has since become the first Bishop of the Diocese 
of Harrisburg. It was from this Brooklyn parish, too, that, three 
years later (1894), he secured his bride, Carrie Louise Clark, the 
daughter of the Junior Warden. 

After leaving the General Theological Seminary Mr. Jones was 
invited by his Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Henry A. Neely, to become a 
canon of the cathedral and reside in the Episcopal residence. He 
also received a call to the rectorship of St. Paul's Church, Port- 
land; but, preferring not to work in his native city, he offered his 
services to the Bishop of Montana, in which district he was sta- 

89 



90 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

mediately that if it was to progress its physical equipment 
must be made commensurate with its obvious needs. His ex- 
perience in missionary work in the West, as well as his ob- 
servation of conditions and methods in New York, had made 
him an advocate of work along the lines pursued by what are 
known as Institutional Churches. The parish, favored by an 
unusually loyal and united congregation, was hampered by 
lack of space in all its undertakings. The Sunday School was 
over-crowded, the choir inadequately provided for, the guilds 
and clubs heavily handicapped. The mission work at St. 
John's was laboring under difficulties that even a few hundred 
dollars, spent in additions to the chapel, would have relieved. 
The financial situation needed attention. If free of bonded 
indebtedness, the path of the treasurer was still difficult ; while, 
most important of all, the times were ripe and conditions 

tioned for three years, first at Livingston and later at Virginia 
City. Returning to New York City, he accepted a curacy at old 
St. Clement's, Fourth and McDougal Streets. Six months later, 
having been nominated by Bishop Potter, he accepted the rector- 
ship of St. Paul's Church, Evansville, Ind., where he served for 
three and a half years, and where he was appointed an Examining 
Chaplain of the Diocese of Indiana (1894-1897). He accepted the 
rectorship of Grace Church, Manchester, N. H., in 1898, resigning 
to accept the call to Christ Church, Williamsport, in 1905. 

For six years, while in Manchester, Mr. Jones was a member 
of the Diocesan Board of Missions. He was a member of the 
General Convention of 1904, being seated as first alternate deputy. 

In 1908 Mr. Jones was appointed a delegate to the Pan-Anglican 
Congress; and, in 1910, to the General Convention at Cincinnati, 
receiving the highest number of votes cast and being the first 
clerical deputy from Christ Church to represent the Diocese in 
the General Convention since Dr. Hopkins enjoyed a similar honor, 
twenty-four years ago. He is a member of the Joint Diocesan Sun- 
day School Commission, and for three years has been a delegate to 
the Missionary Council. 

Mr. Jones was nominated in the Richmond Convention to be 
one of the bishops of one of the Western Missionary districts. 

Like many members of the Christ Church Vestry, he is in- 
terested in Masonry, being Captain General of Knights Templar 
and Past Most Wise Master of the Williamsport Rose Croix, Scot- 
tish Rite. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Society Sons of 
the Revolution, and the Psi Upsilon (College) Fraternity; and a 
Trustee of The « ames V. Brown Library. 



Mr. Jones's Rectorship gi 

favorable for an increase in the numerical strength of the 
parish. 

In some respects the chronicles of the five years of Mr. 
Jones's rectorship must consist in records of large sums of 
money spent in buildings and improvements, of gifts given and 
received, of clubs and guilds organized, of financial resources 
placed on a sounder basis. But from a higher standpoint all 
these things must remain of secondary interest and signifi- 
cance as compared to the life of the parish, perhaps best evi- 
denced in the number of baptisms and confirmations. 

As a Churchman Air. Jones belongs to the school which 
holds the Catholic faith ; but which, while admiring the ornate, 
considers ritual beyond that demanded for order, decency and 
dignity, as a non-essential ; a school which in the pulpit 
eschews as far as possible the politico-ethical questions of the 
day, that have here and there dragged the pulpit into politics ; 
but a school which, by preaching the whole gospel of Christ, 
and Him crucified, seeks not only to minister to the soul but 
to furnish guidance for the solving of the complex problems 
that confront present-day men in their dealings with each 
other. 

It would possibly be in bad taste for the writer of the 
present chapter to do more than mention the present rector's 
ability as a thoughtful and helpful preacher ; his persistent 
selection of the old biblical narratives to enforce the lessons to 
which he woud have his congregation give heed; and his rev- 
erent and impressive reading of the services of the Church. A 
better and a truer estimate of the value of his work can be 
given by the mere quotation of the parish records, which show 
that in the past five years the baptisms numbered 246 and the 
confirmations 239. It is worthy of note that in 1906 the class 
presented for confirmation numbered 75, the largest in the his- 
tory of the parish by nearly 50 per cent. 1 As an evidence of 
the strength of the Church to attract not only the children 

1 The largest previous classes were presented by Dr. Paret in 
1870 and Dr. Hopkins in 1879, both numbering 47; but of these a 
number came from Wadleigh Chapel, now St. Mary's Church. 



92 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

whose parents are members, it is not out of place to add that 26 
of the candidates for the rite were of sectarian 1 upbringing. 

On February 4, 1906, by the Rt. Rev. James H. Darling- 
ton, Bishop of the Diocese, Mr. Jones was instituted as Rector 
of Christ Church Parish, the ceremonies being in accord with 
those prescribed by the Church. The Rev. Harry G. Hart- 
man, whom Mr. Jones had engaged as assistant, 2 acted as 
chaplain to the Bishop, and carried the pastoral staff; 3 while 
Mr. Jones was escorted by Mr. C. LaRue Munson, Senior 
Warden, and Mr. Allen P. Perley, Junior Warden, the former, 
on behalf of the congregation, accepting Mr. Jones as rector, 
and presenting him with the keys of the church. After the 
Bishop had presented the new rector with the Bible, the Book 
of Common Prayer, the Constitution and Canons of the 
Church, and the Canons of the Diocese of Harrisburg, and had 
spoken to the people as to the significance of the rite in which 
they had taken part, the Communion Service followed, over 
one hundred persons receiving the Sacrament. 

Among the early work undertaken by Mr. Jones was the 
revival of the parish paper 4 under the title, "Christ Church 
Messenger," in the form of an illustrated monthly, 5 designed 

1 This class is also the banner class in the history of the Dio- 
cese of Harrisburg. In addition one member of the Roman Branch 
of the Catholic Church was received into the Church. 

2 The Rev. Harry G. Hartman came to Christ Church on August 
1, 1905, after graduating from the General Theological Seminary. 
He was given special charge over St. John's Mission; was advanced 
to the priesthood Trinity Sunday, 1906, and resigned October 1, 
1906, having received a call to the rectorship of Trinity Church, 
Shamokin, Pa. 

3 Bishop Darlington's staff was made from a design prepared 
by Dr. Hopkins, and it was first carried before Bishop Howe by 
Dr. Hopkins himself, when he acted as Bishop's Chaplain on the 
occasion of the consecration of Christ Church in 1879. 

4 Reference to this paper is made in some of the previous chap- 
ters and a summary of its history given in "Summary Notes, 'The 
Parish Paper.' " 

5 Editor, Rev. W. Northey Jones; Associate Editors, George P. 
Crocker and Henry C. Parsons; Advertising Manager, Frederick W. 




26 



!U q 



Mr. Jones's Rectorship 93 

to enable the members of the parish to keep in close touch with 
all its affairs ; and the establishment of the "Knights of King 
Arthur," an organization of boys, which has developed into a 
sound and useful club. 1 

Of greater importance was the maintenance of interest in 
the probationary chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, 
organized shortly before Mr. Eckel resigned, under the presi- 
dency of Mr. A. Thomas Page. This work resulted, Septem- 
ber, 1907, in the granting of a charter, No. 1962, to the "Christ 
Church, Williamsport, Chapter." Twenty-live men were en- 
rolled as charter members, with Mr. Washington Righter as 
Director, Mr. Robert Field, Secretary, and Mr. Jasper Nichol- 
son, Treasurer. The Chapter continues active and is of much 
service to the Church. 

Of great help, too, was the organization of a choir of 
girls' voices, in December, 1905, to assist at the services when 
the regular choir could not be present ; daily during Lent, and 
on Wednesday evenings during the rest of the year. Origin- 
ally it was hoped it would sing first at the early communion 
service on Christmas Day, but it did not take part till the first 
Monday in Lent — March 5, 1906. 2 

Zahn. The present staff (1910) is: Editor, Rev. W. Northey 
Jones; Associate Editors, George P. Crocker, Augusta Wilson, Wil- 
liam U. Mussina and Henry C. Parsons; Circulation Department, A. 
Thomas Page; Advertising Manager, Hugh Gilmore; Assistant 
Manager, J. Raymond Geiger. 

1 Originally the "Knights" were boys between the ages of 9 and 
14, assisted by 25 patronesses, of whom Mrs. C. LaRue Munson was 
President, and Mrs. W. H. Kilbourn, Secretary-Treasurer. Later, 
they became the "Junior Knights," owing to the organization of 
the "Senior Knights," who were boys over 15 years of age, assisted 
by 36 men of the parish. These "Senior Knights" had but a short 
existence, and on January 2, 1908, the Junior Knights were reor- 
ganized as "Knights of King Arthur," under the direction of Mr. 
Edgar Munson, who still remains in charge. The boys conduct 
their own .meetings under parliamentary rules, and when in session 
wear picturesque capes as the insignia of their knighthood. 

2 The sacrifice of time and comfort in coming daily, no matter 
what the weather, is greater than is usually appreciated. The time 



94 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

A number of other clubs have been organized and have 
been more or less effective in accomplishing the purposes for 
which they were created; while the older clubs, such as "The 
Parish Ladies' Aid Society," "The Woman's Auxiliary to the 
Board of Missions," and "St. Mary's Guild," have continued 
towers of strength. 1 

From the beginning Mr. Jones had impressed on the 
Vestry his opinion that the parish house must be enlarged if 
successful work was to be achieved, and to a man they not 
only sympathized with him in his desire, but set to work to 
realize it. By March, 1906, St. Mary's Guild, to which no 
task seems impossible, commenced the work of raising funds, 
and the Vestry co-operated, by agreeing to set aside the 
Easter offering for the purpose to which they were now com- 
mitted. On March 29, 1906, the architect submitted plans 
covering alterations the estimated cost of which was about 
$10,000. That sum was not in hand, neither were the altera- 
tions and additions sufficiently extensive for the work that was 
being planned. The matter went over, the Vestry appointing 
Miss Lucy O. Scott, Treasurer of St. Mary's Guild, as special 
treasurer of the building fund till a sufficient amount had been 
accumulated to justify proceeding with the work. 2 The Easter 
offering in 1906 was about $3,400; in 1907 it was about 
$3,800. The money collected justified commencing work and 
the plans had been elaborated till they seemed adequate. Bids 
were asked for in September, and obtained, and in the October 
"Messenger," the editors record that they have been driven out 
of the parish house, it having been turned over to the contrac- 

and help given by Mrs. Gat ward, the Misses Lumley and others 
to the choir is acknowledged in "Summary Notes, 'The Choir/ " 
The Oxford caps and materials for their vestments were donated 
by Mrs. Allen P. Perley. 

1 It would seem that in Christ Church, as elsewhere, for length 
of service and unremitting effort, the women's guilds form exam- 
ples utterly unmatched by their male collaborators. 

2 For convenience the funds were actually handled as by the 
St. Mary's Guild. 



Mr. Jones's Rectorship 95 

tor. 1 Apparently they were not absolutely homeless, for the 
School Directors of the Franklin Building generously loaned 
them a room in which to meet. 

With the commencement of work gifts poured in. The 
plans called for store-rooms, lavatories, club rooms, and a 
bowling alley in the basement ; hall, infants' room, choir room, 
and a Sunday-School room on the first floor, the last named 
with regular stage and paraphernalia; and for club rooms, 
kitchen, study and an auditorium on the second floor. The 
furnishings for such a plant must of necessity be costly, and 
for some months the "Messenger" seems a mere chronicle of 
gifts of furnishings, windows, fittings, rugs, etc., by members 
of the parish, who availed themselves of the opportunity to 
both help the project and erect memorials to the memory of 
those they loved. 2 By the date the parish house was opened, 
October 12, 1908, the value of the gifts so made must have 
equalled nearly $6,000, while the sums paid by the church it- 
self totaled a little over $24,000. The Easter offering in 1908 
had reached $4,200, and in the succeeding year $3,300 more 
was realized from the same source. All bills were paid and 
by the middle of 1910 the parish house, which, with furnish- 
ings, must have cost $30,000, was paid for with the exception 
of about $1,500, which will be wiped out next Easter. 

Hardly had the parish house project gotten well under 
way, than an unexpected gift was made for St. John's Mission 
on the South Side. Mr. Henry J. Lutcher and Mr. G. T. Bedell 
Moore, the latter the son of a former rector of the parish, pre- 
sented to the Church a lot on Market Street, splendidly situ- 

1 Samuel Larrivee was the contractor; G-. W. Talley, clerk-of- 
the-works; the Vestry Committee — the Wardens and Messrs. C. 
B. Farr, John F. Laedlein, Joseph C. Righter and William C. Rob- 
inson. The contract was for $14,500, exclusive of lighting, heating, 
windows, etc. 

2 The individual gifts are itemized in "Summary Notes; 'Gifts, 
Memorials, etc' " Every room was completely furnished through 
the generosity of some person or family immediately on its com- 
pletion. 



g6 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

ated and of ample dimensions to permit the erection on it of a 
church, parish house and parsonage. 

The possibilities that this gift suggested were tremen- 
dous. At the beginning of his incumbency Mr. Jones had re- 
quested the Vestry to increase the salary of the curate to $700, 
which they had done, and he had then insisted that the curate 
reside on the South Side, among the people to whom he was 
supposed to minister, instead of living in the city and "visiting 
them," as in the past. Only by perpetual contact and com- 
munity of interest did he believe the Mission could advance. 
On the resignation of Mr. Hartman, in October, 1906, he had 
secured Mr. Thomas R. Yates, 1 who was the type of man he 
was looking for, and who threw himself so whole-heartedly 
into the work as to soon win the affection of his people. The 
chapel was a wooden building, erected by Dr. Hopkins 23 
years previously, and naturally was not on the lot presented. 
To move it would be expensive; from the standpoint of the 
future, unsatisfactory. While the matter was being considered 
Mr. G. T. Bedell Moore, who with his partner, Mr. Lutcher, 
had just given the lot, solved the problem. Writing from his 
residence in San Antonio, he informed the Vestry he desired 
to give St. John's a church in memory of his father, and placed 
the matter of its erection in the hands of Wardens of the parish, 
only asking that the foundations be put in before cold weather. 
The plans drawn by Duhring, Okie & Ziegler, calling for a 
church of brown mountain stone up to the eaves, above which 
there was to be English open timber work, were accepted, and 
the necessary excavations commenced. The cost was esti- 
mated at $10,000, but before completion the bills paid by Mr. 

1 The Rev. Thomas R. Yates was born in England, but came 
to this country as a young man, laboring in a coal mine in order 
to secure money to get through college. He spent four years at 
Harlem Springs College, Ohio, and then entered Mt. Union Col- 
lege, Alliance, Ohio, graduating in 1891. He spent one year at 
the Western Theological Seminary (Methodist) and one year trav- 
eling in Europe, before becoming pastor of a Methodist church 
at Pulaski, Pa. Mr. Yates was ordained deacon by Bishop Dar- 
lington, September, 1907, and priest March 17, 1908. 



Mr. Jones's Rectorship 97 

Moore, and after his death by his widow, Mrs. Moore, totaled 
nearer $20,000. The Vestry, on its part, promised to see that 
a parsonage was erected. Early in the next year, on May 14, 
1908, the corner-stone was laid by Bishop Darlington, the 
Grand Lodge of Masons assisting, while the Rev. Mr. Graff, a 
former rector of the parish, came in person to tell his remin- 
iscences of the Mission's early history. The clergy, preceded 
by the vested choir, at the head of which was carried the pro- 
cessional cross, left Christ Church fully vested, and followed 
by the Bishop in his robes, in front of whom was carried a 
pastoral staff, proceeded out Fourth Street to Market Street, 
and thence down Market Street, across the bridge, to the site 
of the new church. The procession was a dignified one and 
doubly pleasant, as demonstrating that, excepting in the larger 
cities, the Church can still perform her rites with some of the 
pomp that befits them, without fear of ribaldry or interruption. 

The building operations proceeded steadily and on March 
28, 1909, the new church was used for the first time; being 
consecrated by Bishop Darlington shortly after, on Ascension 
Day of that year. 

The completed building is so beautiful that it adds to the 
sorrow felt throughout the parish that Mr. Moore did not live 
to see it. He died suddenly and unexpectedly on October 11, 
1908, his body being brought to Williamsport for interment in 
the lot which contained the bodies of his first wife and two 
children. His sisters, the Misses Gertrude, Sarah Vir- 
ginia and Emily Salter Moore, desired the permission of the 
Vestry to erect a window to Mr. Moore's memory in the chan- 
cel, but before it was completed, death again stepped in 
and claimed Miss Gertrude Moore. The window depicts 
six scenes in the life of St. John, and is probably the finest 
piece of stained glass in Williamsport. Upon the death of 
her husband Mrs. G. T. Bedell Moore assumed his interest in 
the Memorial Church, and to her kindness and interest much 
is due. The rood, altar, reredos and sedilia constitute her 
tribute to Mr. Moore's memory. 

As promised, the Vestry proceeded with the erection of a 



98 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

parsonage, the contract price being $4,400, Mr. Yates with his 
family moving in in March, 19 10. The financial problem was 
so far simplified through the sale of the old church and lots 
that to-day, despite the fact that it cost $5,000, the only encum- 
brance on the property is a mortgage for $i,5oo. 1 

The two large building operations have in a way over- 
shadowed, so far, the story of this rectorship. But an im- 
mense amount has been done in other ways, the most far- 
reaching act being the decision of the Vestry to rent the pews. 
When, in 1866, Mr. Wadleigh accepted the rectorship, he did 
so only upon the understanding that the church should be 
made a free church ; and it has been recorded how he and Mr. 
Grange spent an afternoon carrying down into the cellar the 
doors of the pews, in order that it might not only be free, but 
appear so. Yet the history of the church since his time, as well 
as before it, is largely one of financial difficulties, of endless 
borrowings and payments of interest, of difficulties experi- 
enced in persuading each member of the parish to pay his 
share. After the erection of the Diocese of Harrisburg, and 
the election of Bishop Darlington, who is a strong believer in 
pew-rentals, the Vestry, after much anxious consideration, de- 
cided to make a trial. The Bishop visited the parish in 1908 
and spoke plainly to the congregation, pointing out that, 
though in theory the free church was most excellent, it gen- 
erally failed in practice. On April 27, 1908, therefore, the 
pew-rent system was authorized to take effect July 1. A dia- 
gram was drawn and published in the "Messenger," in which 
the rent of the pews was shown to vary from $15 to $120, each 
pew containing five sittings. A person desiring a single sit- 
ting could have one assigned, and if this sitting was in one of 
the $15 pews, it would cost him but 54-5 cents a Sunday. 
Free seats were provided for the inmates of the Girls' Training 
School, and precautions taken to prevent those unable to con- 
tibute even the nominal sum named from feeling that the new 

lThe Mission is rapidly becoming self-supporting. Christ 
Church pays $400 of the curate's salary; the Mission pays the 
balance and all other expenses. 



Mr. Jones's Rectorship 99 

rule affected them. The committee having the matter in charge 
went to work and has been so successful that at Easter, 1910, 
but two pews and fifteen individual sittings remained un- 
taken, and the "Messenger" reported that the income of the 
Church had been increased by $1,500. 

In the early part of 1907, after careful consideration on 
the part of the Vestry, an amended charter 1 was submitted to 
the congregation at a parish meeting. Being approved, it was 
forwarded to the President Judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas of Lycoming County and subsequently approved by him. 2 

Work of all kinds has gone forward during the past five 
years, but none has done more to beautify the church itself 
than the presentation of memorial windows. When, at the 
April, 1905, meeting of the Vestry, Messrs. Robert Hallam 
Munson and C. LaRue Munson requested permission to place 
in the church a window in memory of their parents, and Mrs. 
Elizabeth H. Doebler, at the same time, requested permission 
to place a window in the church in memory of her husband, 
the nature of the windows, and the cumulative effect to be ob- 
tained, was seriously considered, and it was decided that donors 
should be requested to have the windows depict scenes from 

1 The amendments were of a nature to enable the Vestry to 
better administer the financial affairs of the parish. 

2 In every rectorship losses by death are inevitable. On No- 
vember 19, 1908, Mr. John B. Dayton, who, confirmed in 1860, had 
become Superintendent of the Sunday School, and later, 1892, a 
member of the Vestry, passed away, after attending Christ Church 
for 48 years. The officers of the Sunday School met and passed 
suitable resolutions, the Vestry taking similar action. 

Mr. William Humbert Kilbourn, who had attained manhood 
before entering the Episcopal Church, died suddenly on March 14, 
1908. Though only connected with Christ Church since 1899, he 
had worked so indefatigably for her interests — especially in the 
Sunday School — that his loss was a severe one. The officers of 
the Sunday School met and passed suitable resolutions. 

On January 31, 1907, Miss Sarah Ann Damant, the sister of 
Mr. James Damant, who served the parish in so many capacities, 
died peacefully in her home. She was much loved in the parish 
and had recently celebrated her 101st birthday. 



ioo Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

the life of Christ, while the windows themselves should be so 
placed that the scenes would follow each other in chronological 
order. 1 

Of the four windows in the church, given during the 
present rectorship, the first to be unveiled was the 'The Na- 
tivity," given in memory of Edgar and Maria Curtis Munson 2 
by their sons, Robert Hallam and Cyrus LaRue Munson. It 
was unveiled by Robert Hallam Munson on All Saints' Day, 
1905, in the presence of the Bishop of the Diocese, a number 
of clergy and a large congregation, to whom Mr. Cyrus LaRue 
Munson read a paper commemorating the lives of his parents. 

The second window to be placed in position was that of 
"The Ascension," presented by the legatees of James Van du 
Zee Brown 3 to his memory, and unveiled by Mr. Edmund B. 
Piper on June 4, 1906. The ceremonies were simple, but 
gained dignity through the presence of the Bishops of Harris- 
burg and Maryland, the latter, Dr. Paret, having been the 
rector who first appointed Mr. Brown warden. 

In 1905 Mrs. Elizabeth W. Doebler had made arrange- 
ments to place a window to the memory of her husband, but 
before they could be completed she herself was stricken by 
death. So it was not till the 17th of October, 1907, that the 
window, "Christ before the Doctors," was unveiled by Mr. 
John Doebler, who on behalf of the family presented it to the 
church in memory of Valentine Smith and Elizabeth Hepburn 
Doebler. 

1 Mr. Eckel had suggested the scheme to the Vestry during his 
rectorship and warmly advocated it. Unfortunately the condition 
of the older windows made the moving of them such a hazardous 
proposition that they remain as originally placed. 

2 Edgar Munson was for years a warden of Christ Church and 
a short notice of his life has been inserted in the chapter "Mr. 
Graff's Rectorship." His wife, Lucy Maria Curtis, whom he mar- 
ried in 1852, was as devoted to the interests of the church as he 
himself. She passed away February 10, 1902, less than a year 
after her husband's death. 

3 James Van du Zee Brown became a warden of Christ Church 
during the rectorship of Dr. Paret, A short account of his life 
has been inserted in the chapter, "Dr. Paret's Rectorship." 



Mr. Jones's Rectorship ioi 

The last of the windows, that of "Christ Seated in Glory," 
was placed in the triangular panel over the main entrance. It 
was presented as a memorial to George Westle Baird, by Mrs. 
Susanna and Miss Alma A. Baird, his widow and daughter, 
and unveiled on the Eve of All Saints, 1909. 

Many other gifts have been made, of which the Sanctuary 
Rail, a memorial to Carile Cone Brown, 1 presented by her sis- 
ters, Mrs. Allen P. Perley and Mrs. Helen A. Piper, and the 
tablet to Mr. John White and his son, John Allison White, 
presented by Mrs. John White, are the most important. 

The spiritual life and the social life of the parish have 
both progressed. The "Messenger" records numbers as 
present at and receiving the Eucharist and an immense num- 
ber of pastoral calls both by the Rector and the Deaconess. 
The new parish house, with its complete equipment of bowling 
alleys, billiard tables, guild rooms and auditoriums, has proven 
a magnet of attraction. The Men's Club, entertained by 
various members of the church, has on several occasions as- 
sembled a hundred strong, to listen to lectures, to smoke and 
to banquet. The girls also have organized. The Sewing Club 
is active and the Girls' Friendly and other guilds keep steadily 
at work. Parochial missions have been held : in Christ Church, 
February 11-28, 1908, under the Rev. Kenneth Mackenzie, Jr.; 
in St. John's Chapel, November 17-23, 1906, under different 
preachers. The services, about once a month, for deaf-mutes, 
of whom there are sixteen communicants in the parish, have 
been continued under the Rev. Franklin C. Smileau, 2 and in 
November, 1907, a Missionary mass meeting was held, with 
Bishop Spalding, of Salt Lake, and Bishop Kinsolving, of 
Texas, as the speakers. The work organized by Mr. Eckel in 
the Church of the Epiphany for colored people was recalled in 

1 Carile Cone Brown was the wife of James Van du Zee Brown. 

2 The Rev. Mr. Smileau, himself a deaf mute, is doing wonder- 
ful work. Despite his physical handicap, he took the full course 
of theology, including Greek and Hebrew. He covers the dioceses 
of Harrisburg, Bethlehem and Western New York — some 36,000 
square miles. 



102 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

November, 1906, when the Rev. Joseph W. Livingston, a col- 
ored priest, held a service for the members of his race in the 
church and organized a guild. In all undertakings the choir 
has responded to the calls made upon it, the special services of 
Maunder's "Song of Thanksgiving," 1905 and 1906, and of 
the same composer's "Penitence, Pardon and Peace," in Lent, 
1909 and 1910, standing out as brilliant achievements. In en- 
tertainments to raise funds for various purposes the members 
of the parish have worked unselfishly and effectively. 1 

In the Diocese the election of the Senior Warden, Mr. C. 
LaRue Munson, to the Chancellorship has added to the im- 
portance of the parish, while the organization of an annual 
Laymen's Banquet of the Archdeaconry of Williamsport, un- 
der the direction of the Williamsport Clericus, 2 has aroused 
and concentrated enthusiasm amongst the laymen to an unex- 
pected degree. 

The parish, permeated with a spirit of loyalty, sound 
financially and equipped with adequate organizations and build- 
ings for its work, celebrates the seventieth anniversary of the 
first Episcopal Church service in Williamsport, in the fall of 
the present year. That the completion of three-score years and 
ten of its history — the allotted length of a man's life — will 
mean to it merely renewed life, in which it will continue to 
labor for the advancement of the Kingdom, cannot be doubted. 



l"The Coming of Ruth," a costumed cantata, was sung at the 
Opera House April 4 and 5, 1907, by a chorus of one hundred 
voices; a variety, "The County Fair," was produced at the Valla- 
mont Theatre June 14, 1907; and "Across the Continent" at the 
Opera House, September 18, 1908. In addition, dozens of enter- 
tainments of various kinds have been given. 

2 The Annual Banquet is under the direction of the Williams- 
port Clericus. Suggested by Mr. Jones at a meeting in 1906, the 
Vestries of Christ Church and Trinity Church were called together 
and the necessary arrangements made. Each year since that time 
between 300 and 400 Churchmen have sat down in token of their 
good fellowship and desire to promote the interests of the Church. 
Speeches by prominent clerics and laymen have been by no means 
the least enjoyable features of the dinners. 



SUMMARY NOTES. 1 



Before bringing this sketch to an end it will be desirable 
to present, in summary form, a few notes under the following 
heads : The Parish Paper ; The Bishops of the Diocese ; List 
of the Clergy ; Lay Officers and Prominent Lay- Workers ; 
Choir and Music; The Money Problem; Wadleigh (St. 
Mary's) Chapel; St. John's Chapel; Memorials and Thank- 
offerings and The Parish in Archdeaconry and Diocese. 



i Mr. Eckel's narrative is here resumed. For that part of the 
text, however, which relates to his and Mr. Jones's rectorships, the 
Registrar is responsible. [Ed.] 

103 



Summary Notes 



THE PARISH PAPER. 



From the beginning of Dr. Paret's rectorship onward the 
chronicler of Christ Church Parish history is embarrassed, not 
by the dearth of data, but by its abundance. For there is 
available a file of parish magazines which, supplemented by 
the Rev. C. F. Sweet's biography of Dr. Hopkins, "A Cham- 
pion of the Cross," from which quotations have already been 
made, and other literary material, gives one a vivid story of 
that progressive development from year to year which has not 
only given the parish a foremost place in the Diocese, but made 
its savor of good works to be smelled abroad. 

'The Parish Guide" was begun by Dr. Paret in February, 
1870, and published continuously until the end of 1875. 1 It 
was a modest little paper of eight or twelve pages (the one 
size or other, according to circumstances), 9x6 inches. On 
the upper part of the cover appeared the picture of a battle- 
mented church-door bearing the name, ''Parish Guide," with 
the year over the door, and flanked on either side with grape 
and ivy vines. Lower down was the motto : "Whatsoever ye 
do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men — Colos- 
sians iii : 23." In his initial number the Rector remarked : 
"Those who will take the trouble to preserve successive num- 
bers and have them bound will find them a good record of 
parish history." He asks for 100 subscribers at $1.50 each, 
but was evidently disappointed, for again and again the rector- 
editor expresses his fear that the publication of the little paper 
must soon come to an end for lack of financial support. Yet 
each time until December, 1875, ms friends seem to have ral- 

1 The following numbers are yet missing from the file, and will 
be gladly received from any persons who can supply them: Octo- 
ber and December, 1873; November, 1874, and all but March and 
April of the year 1875. [Ed.] 

105 



106 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

lied to his aid and the paper went on, the subscription price, 
however, being reduced to 60 cents for 1871, but raised to 
$1.00 the next year. At one time for a considerable period the 
"business management" was lodged in the hands of a com- 
mittee of "the Brotherhood," composed of Messrs. J. J. 
Crocker and F. E. Gleim (January, 1872). 

We find the Rector not only maintaining the "free seats" 
policy of his predecessor "as a pecuniary policy," but defend- 
ing it "on grounds of holy principle." We note also that in 
the issue for May, 1870, he expresses his gratitude for "the 
prompt fulfilment, and more than fulfilment, of every promise 
made me; the warm personal friendship and interest mani- 
fested, with many instances of personal kindness ; the ready 
co-operation in all the Rector's plans and purposes of Church 
work ; the hearty confidence and utter lack of fault-finding, and 
the tokens of growing interest and zeal." 

The first number of "Christ Church Messenger" appeared 
in March, 1888. This was a twelve-page magazine, 9^ x 7 
inches, with a four-page colored cover. The "Messenger" was 
a more ambitious periodical than the "Guide," and contained, 
besides its monthly quota of parochial news items and exhorta- 
tions, some columns of well selected articles from the general 
Church press and a condensed summary of Church movements 
and notable events at home and abroad, especially in the mis- 
sion fields of the Church. From time to time Mr. Graff ex- 
presses misgivings like to those of Dr. Paret regarding his 
ability to keep up this publication, but assistance seems ever to 
have been forthcoming until Febraury, 1894, when we read a 
pathetic "farewell." 1 Publication was suspended each year 
during the months of August and September. The subscrip- 
tion price of the "Messenger" throughout its history was 25 
cents a year. During Mr. Graff's time the cover bore the mot- 
toes : "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" and " 'Thus 

1 The only missing numbers from the file are June and July, 
1889. It is supposed that no June number was published on ac- 
count of the flood, and perhaps the same reason explains the ab- 
sence of the July number. 



The Parish Paper 107 

saith the Lord, Ask for the old paths, where is the good way, 
and ye shall find rest for your souls' — Jer. vi:i5." The names 
of "Wadleigh Chapel, East Williamsport," and "St. John's 
Chapel, South Williamsport," also appeared on the front im- 
mediately below the name and location of the parish church. 

It is not the purpose of the present writer to enter upon 
the period of his own rectorship, but it may here be added, for 
the sake of completeness, that "Christ Church Messenger" was 
revived by Mr. Eckel in March, 1897, as a four-page leaflet, 
10^2 x y}i inches (later reduced to 9^ x6), and ran for two 
years, when its discontinuance was necessitated by the with- 
drawal of advertising under a rule of the merchants' associa- 
tion against all publications but newspapers. Under altered 
circumstances a later revival of the paper by Mr. Jones came 
in October, 1905, when its form and style were greatly im- 
proved, and it has continued its appearance since then as an 
illustrated monthly. 1 

This resume of the history of the parish papers has been 
deemed a proper subject of introduction here for the reason 
that both the clergy and parishioners have always regarded 
their parish paper as an important agency in maintaining and 
forwarding the prosperity of the parish. 

1 Ten issues a year. Not published in July and August. [Ed.] 



Summary Notes 



THE BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 



It should not be forgotten that to a larger degree than 
rectors or people realize, the prosperity of a parish depends 
upon the personality and administrative efficiency of the 
Bishop. If the parishioners in general know the Bishop of the 
Diocese only as an occasional visitor to their church, chiefly 
for the Laying on of Hands in Confirmation, the clergy know 
him as a personal friend and adviser, as a Father in God, as 
the Chief Shepherd, as the Pastor of Pastors, and as the direc- 
tor of policies designed to strengthen, invigorate, and expand 
the corporate life of the Church. Not a little of the success of 
the parochial and missionary clergy of a diocese is due to the 
encouragement and guidance of their Bishop, to the private 
admonitions, incentives, and example of their chief. But if 
the majority of parishioners are unaware of the Bishop's influ- 
ence in their religious affairs, it is not so with the Vestry or 
with the lay-delegates to the Diocesan Convention. The prac- 
tical value of the episcopal system is made clearly evident as 
to the clergy, so also to the lay-officials of the Church, in a mul- 
tiplicity of ways. Under the leadership and counsels of a 
strong and able Bishop, a beneficial impress is made upon each 
parish and mission in the Diocese. When, therefore, one 
would reckon up the forces which have made Christ Church 
Parish, Williamsport, what it is, the names and splendid per- 
sonality of its Bishops must not be forgotten. 

It is an interesting circumstance in our history that all 
the early Bishops of Pennsylvania except the first (the Right 
Rev. William White, D. D., who died in 1836,) have officially 
visited this parish and ministered to our people. Their por- 
traits and those of the Bishops of Central Pennsylvania, and 
that of the present Bishop of Harrisburg, can be seen hanging 
on the walls of the vestry-room. 



no Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Our Fathers in God have been the following: 
Bishops of Pennsylvania. 

The Right Rev. Henry Ustick Onderdonk, D. D., born 
1789, consecrated Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania in 1827, 
became second Bishop of the Diocese in 1836, and died in 1858. 

The Right Rev. Alonzo Potter, D. D., LL. D., born 1800, 
consecrated 1845, an d died 1865. 

The Right Rev. Samuel Bowman, D. D., born 1800, con- 
secrated Assistant Bishop in 1858, and died 1861. 

The Right Rev. William Bacon Stevens, D. D., LL. D., 
born 181 5, consecrated fourth Bishop of Pennsylvania in 1862, 
and died 1887. During his episcopate the Diocese was divided 
(1871), and thereafter the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania 
had its own Bishops. 

Bishops of Central Pennsylvania. 

The Right Rev. Mark Antony DeWolfe Howe, D. D., 
LL. D., born 1809, consecrated 1871, and died 1895. 

The Right Rev. Nelson Somerville Rulison, D. D., born 
1842, consecrated Assistant Bishop in 1884, became Bishop of 
the Diocese in 1895, and died 1897. 

The Right Rev. Ethelbert Talbot, D. D., LL. D., born 
1848, consecrated Missionary Bishop of Wyoming and Idaho 
in 1887, and translated to Central Pennsylvania as Diocesan in 
1898. During his episcopate the Diocese was divided (1904), 
and the Diocese of Harrisburg erected, Dr. Darlington being 
elected its first Bishop. 1 

Bishops of Harrisburg. 

The Right Rev. James Henry Darlington, D. D., LL. D., 
Ph. D., born 1856, consecrated first Bishop of Harrisburg 
1905. 

1 The name "Diocese of Central Pennsylvania" has since been 
changed to "Diocese of Bethlehem." [Ed.] 



Summary Notes 



LIST OF THE CLERGY. 



Rectors — (i) The Rev. Edwin Nathaniel Lightner, April 
i, 1 84a- June 13, 1842; (2) The Rev. John Baker Clemson, 
June 26, 1842-April 16, 1843; (3) The Rev. Thomas Coffin 
Yarnall, Deacon, September 17, 1843-April 11, 1844; (4) The 
Rev. William James Clark, November 15, 1846-April 6, 1851 ; 
(5) The Rev. John Henry Black, October 10, 1851-June 12, 
1853; (6) The Rev. Edward Purdon Wright, October 10, 
1853-April 11, 1854; (7) The Rev. W. H. Cooper, Septem- 
ber 17, 1 854- July 20, 1855; (8) The Rev. Richard Channing 
Moore, October 20, 1855-October — , 1865; (9) The Rev. 
Albra Wadleigh, April 1, 1866- April 1, 1869; (10) The Rev. 
William Paret, D. D., May 1, 1869-October 4, 1876; (11) The 
Rev. John Henry Hopkins, D. D., S. T. D., December 10, 
1876-October 1, 1887; (12) The Rev. William Henry Graff, 
November 25, 1887-May 4, 1896; (13) The Rev. Edward 
Henry Eckel, B. D., November 1, 1896-March 1, 1905; and 
(14) The Rev. William Northey Jones, May, 1905 . 

Of these fourteen rectors the addresses of those who are 
still living are : Dr. Yarnall, Philadelphia ; Bishop Paret, Bal- 
timore ; Mr. Graff, Philadelphia ; Mr. Eckel, St. Joseph ; and 
Mr. Jones, W'illiamsport. 

Assistants. — (1) The Rev. Samuel Earp, July 5, 1868- 
January 1, 1869; (2) The Rev. Charles Edward Dobson, Octo- 
ber 3, 1880-March 30, 1886; (3) The Rev. William Louis 
Woodruff, December 28, 1886 (?) -November 4, 1888; (4) 
The Rev. David Stuart Hamilton, July 1, 1889-November 16, 
1890; (5) The Rev. Lansing Swan Humphrey, January 15, 
1 89 1 -July 1, 1 89 1 ; (6) The Rev. Morris Washington Christ- 
man, July 3, 1891-June 1, 1894; (7) The Rev. Lauren Pet- 
tebone Wolfe, July 1, 1898-February 28, 1900; (8) The Rev. 
Thomas Henry Johnston, March I, 1900-June I, 1900; (9) 

in 



1 72 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

The Rev. William A. Eardley (Thomas), September i, 1900- 
December 1, 1900; (10) The Rev. James Whalley Diggles, 
February 1, 1901-December 9, 1902; (11) The Rev. Martin 
Darner, February 1, 1903-November 26, 1903; (12) The Rev. 
Job Osiander Babin, May 30, 1904-February 1, 1905; (13) 
Rev. Flarry G. Hartman, August 1, 1905-October 1, 1906; 
(14) Rev. Thomas R. Yates, October 1, 1906 . 

The Rev. Enos Josiah Balsley lived with Dr. Hopkins 
contemporaneously with Mr. Dob-son and served outlying 
missions, but took occasional duty in this parish. 

The Rev. William Jenkins likewise lived in Williamsport 
and ministered outside, contemporaneously with Mr. Diggles, 
but often officiated in the churches of Christ Church Parish. 

The Rev. George Read Savage and the Rev. Harry Mc- 
Dowell served as assistants temporarily between Mr. Wood- 
ruff and Mr. Hamilton. 

The Rev. Alfred Evan Johnson was locum tenens between 
Dr. Paret and Dr. Hopkins ; the Rev. William H. Burbank 
between Mr. Graff and Mr. Eckel; and the Rev. Joseph F. 
John between Mr. Eckel and Mr. Jones. 

Deaconess. — Mrs. Eliza Anna (Derr) Christman (widow 
of the Rev. Morris Washington Christman, Assistant, July, 
1 891 -June, 1894) was set apart as a deaconess May 8, 
and still ministers in the parish. 




A.Thomas Page 






William C. Robinson 



C. La RueMunson 

Senior Warden 




Frank C.Bowman 



o)OhN B.lRV/N/ 



Vestrymen of Christ Church 

Easter /9/0 



Summary Notes 



LAY OFFICERS AND PROMINENT 
LAY-WORKERS. 



This narrative would not be complete nor just to the 
people of Christ Church Parish were it to pass over without 
notice the names and active services of the many earnest and 
devout lay-folk whose zeal and generosity have contributed 
so signally to its prosperity. 

The records of the Vestry reveal the interesting fact 
that, with the rarest exceptions, a layman once chosen to mem- 
bership in the Vestry is annually re-elected and remains in 
this body until his death or removal from the city. Several 
of these records of long service are particularly noteworthy. 

Of the Vestry chosen when the parish was organized in 
February, 1841, Mr. F. C. Campbell served first as Vestry's 
Warden until 1853, then as Rector's Warden from 1855 until 
his death in 1865, a period of 24 years in all. 

Mr. Campbell was succeeded as Vestry's Warden by Mr. 
Lester Griswold, who had been Rector's Warden fromi the 
time of Judge Ellis and a vestryman from the date of organi- 
zation. Mr. Griswold died in January, 1867, after 26 years' 
service. 

Major J. H. Perkins, whose death at the great age of 
91 years, occurred July 17, 1893, succeeded Mr. Griswold 
as Vestry's Warden in 1867, and at the time of his death 
had been a member of the Vestry for over 40 years and 
warden for more than half that time. 

Mr. Oliver Watson was a vestryman from 1841 till his 
death in August, 1882, a period of over 41 years. 

Mr. John W T hite was elected April 9, 1855, and served in 
the Vestry for 34 years, till his death in 1890. 

Judge Maynard was a vestryman from 1841 till the or- 
ganization of Trinity Parish in 1865, a period of 24 years. 

Mr. James Damant was elected "Clerk of the Vestry" 

"3 



ii4 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

April 12, 1852, and in this capacity, later as a member of the 
Vestry, as Parish Treasurer, and for many years as organist 
of the church, served a period of over 21 years. 

Mr. J. V. Brown became a vestryman in 1863, and served 
for 41 years, till his death in 1904. He was appointed Rec- 
tor's Warden in 1873, and elected Vestry's Warden upon the 
death of Mr. Edgar Munson in 1901. 

Dr. W. F. Logan was a vestryman from 1863 till Easter, 
1892, a period of 29 years. He died December 20, 1892. 

Mr. H. C Parsons, Sr., was a member of the Vestry from 
April 2, 1866, until his death, November 21, 1898, a period 
of 32 years. 

Col. F. E. Embick served from January 28, 1867, until 
his removal to New York City in 1901, a period of 34 years. 

Mr. Charles B. Howard served as vestryman from April 
18, 1870, till his removal from the city in the summer of 1891, 
a period of 21 years. 

Mr. J. J. Crocker became Secretary and Treasurer April 
28, 1873, was elected vestryman six years later, and served till 
his death, April 2, 1902, a period of 29 years. He became 
Rector's Warden June 4, 1901. 

Mr. Edgar Munson, Sr., was elected to the Vestry on 
Easter Monday, April 6, 1874, became Vestry's Warden nearly 
20 years later, February 1, 1894, and died in 1901, after 2 1 / 
years' service in the Vestry. 

Of the present Vestry three have been members for over 
20 years, namely, Mr. C. LaRue Munson, since 1881 ; Mr. A. 
P. Perley, since 1883; and Mr. John F. Laedlein, since Octo- 
ber 6, 1888. 

Other important names a quarter of a century or more 
ago are the Hon. Chief Justice Ellis Lewis, E. C. Johnson, H. 
F. Snyder, V. S. Doebler, F. H. Bunnell, John Piatt, D. W. 
Smith, George Webb, Martin Powell, F. N. Page, Judge H. 
H. Cummin, D. H. Merriman, A. H. Merritt, E. H. Biggs, 
J. H. Fry, Dr. J. A. L. Burrell, and F. E. Gleim, all of whom 
served on the Vestry. 

The long service of Mr. C. LaRue Munson as lay-super- 




Horace Y Otto 





Edward E . Shay 




George R Crocker 



Edward R Almy 



Vestrymen of? Christ Church 

Easter iqio 



Lay Officers and Prominent Lay-Workers 115 

intendent of the Sunday School deserves special notice. Shar- 
ing with Mr. A. Howard Merritt a "joint superintendency" 
from 1877 to 1882, Mr. Munson continued at the head of the 
school until 1892, a period of twenty-five years. 

It would be difficult if not impossible to particularize all 
the old families of the parish or mention the names of all the 
active workers of Christ Church during the 70 years of its 
history. Many such names have occurred in the course of 
this sketch. But there is one fact of special interest that 
should be noted in this connection. To a remarkable degree 
one finds the interest of many families continued through the 
second, third, and fourth generations, and embracing also 
connections by marriage on both sides. Of such families yet 
identified with Christ Church may be named the Griswolds, 
Watsons, Whites, Perkinses, Browns, Munsons, Perleys, 
Crockers, Parsonses, Daytons, Logans, Piatts, Zahns, Gilmores, 
Pottses, and some others. These names must be recorded with 
appreciation and gratitude. Of devout communicants there 
are many whose connection with the parish runs back a long 
way, and of devoted young people there is a goodly company 
whose record of faithfulness will doubtless adorn those future 
chronicles of the parish which traverse the period of the 
present generation. 

Mrs. John White is the oldest living member of the 
parish, her affiliation with it dating from 1852. 

The Wardens. — As in many other parishes, the wardens 
of this parish are known as the Senior Warden and the Junior 
Warden, but reversing the usual order, the former is the Ves- 
try's Warden and elected by their suffrages, and the latter is 
the Rector's Warden and appointed from the Vestry by the 
rector. 1 

Vestry's (Senior) Wardens : Francis C. Campbell 1841- 
1853; Lester Griswold, 1854-1867; James H. Perkins, 1867- 

1 During some of the early years of the parish's history the 
Senior Warden seems to have been Rector's Warden and the 
Junior Warden, Vestry's Warden. Possibly this inconsistency is 
due to the Secretary's clerical errors. [Ed.] 




Edgar Mun<son 



William H.Crockett 



Vestrymen of Christ Church 

Easter *9jo 



Lay Officers and Prominent Lay-Workers 117 

Sextons. — In view of the useful services rendered by the 
church sexton it seems a pity that we have no complete list of 
the men who have served in this capacity. The names of Jerry 
Blue, Joseph R. Anderson, T. Roy Meginnis, Frank E. Hunt, 
and Edward Powell have been met in the records that have 
come under our eye. 

Chronological List of Vestrymen. 1 

As the dates giA r en are dates of election, and as the elec- 
tions are held on Easter-Mondays (the term being one year), 
the vestrymen, unless they resigned or died, held office till 
Easter of the year following that given. In a few cases elec- 
tions to fill vacancies were held immediately upon such vacan- 
cies occurring. 

Campbell, Francis C 1841-1853, 1855-1866 

Lewis, Hon. Ellis 1841- ? 

Griswold, Lester 1841-1867 

Watson, Oliver 1841-1882 

Maynard, Hon. John W 1841-1862 

Vastine, Dr. Thomas 1841- ? 

Hutchens, John 1841- ? 

Shoemaker, Henry 1841- ? 

Cox, Hopewell 1841- ? 

Damant, James 1852 ( ?)-i854, 1860-1866 

Cowan, John F 1852c ?)-i8S4 

Dodge, John C i852(?)-i857 

Perkins, Maj. James H 1852 ( ?)-i8o,3 

McCoy, John J i852(?)-i85? 

Desanges, Henry S 1853-1855 

Montgomery, Mr 1853 

White, John 1855-1890 

Fouquet. J. D 1856-1858 

Xoland, P 1858-1861 

l Minutes of the Vestry 1841-1851 are lacking. Vestrymen of 
1841 who are recorded as being vestrymen in 1852 are credited with 
holding office during the intervening years. [Ed.] 



n8 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Snyder, Henry F- 1858-1859, 1862-1866 

Johnson, Edward C 1859-1860 

Smith, P. G 1862 

Brown, James V 1863-1904 

Logan, Dr. William F 1863-1891 

Parsons, Henry C 1866-1898 

Bunnell, F. H 1866-1871 

Doebler, Valentine S 1866 

Embick, Col. Fred. E 1867-1900 

Piatt, John 1867-1868 

Smith, D. W 1869-1873 

Howard, Charles B 1870-1888 

Webb, George 1870-1873 

Powell, Martin 1870-1876 

Smeeton, James 1870- 1880 

Page, F. N 1871-1876 

Munson, Edgar 1874- 1901 

Cummin, Hon. Hugh H 1876- 1889 

Merriman, D. H 1877 

Biggs, Elisha H 1877-1878 

Merritt, Thomas P 1877-1879 

Fry, H. Howard 1877-1881 

Watson, William S 1878-1882 

Crocker, John J 1879-1902 

Merritt, A. Howard 1880-1888 

Munson, Cyrus LaRue 1881-1910 

Perley, Allen P 1883-1910 

Sanderson, George L 1 883- 1 891 

Gleim, Frederick E 1883-1896 

Laedlein, John F 1888-1910 

Burrell, Dr. James A. L 1891 

Starr, James S 1892-1899 

Page, A. Thomas 1892, 1900-1910 

Robinson, William C 1892-1910 

Dayton, John B 1892-1908 

Jones, John E 1892-1904 

Tallman, Lewis 1893-1899 



Lay Officers and Prominent Lay- Workers 119 

Bowman, Frank C 1896-1910 

Sweeley, William 1897- 1905 

White, John A 1899-1904 

Irvin, John B 1 900-1910 

Otto, Horace Y 1901-1910 

Shay, Edward E 1902- 1910 

Crocker, George P 1902-1906, 1908-1910 

Almy, Edward P 1907-1910 

Parsons, Henry C. (Jr.) 1904-1910 

Piper, Edmund B 1 904-1907 

Farr, Creon B 1905-1910 

Hand, Charles H 1905-1907 

Munson, Edgar (Jr.) 1908-1910 

Crockett, William H 1909-1910 



Summary Notes 



CHOIR AND MUSIC. 



A brief summary of choir history will not be out of place. 

We have already noted the purchase of "an uncommonly 
fine-toned organ" for $400 in 1850. The first organist of 
whom we have any record is Miss Jones, who resigned her 
position May 3d, 1864. Her resignation was referred by the 
Vestry to "the ladies of the congregation." On the 1st of 
August "a letter from Miss Jones was read desiring an ad- 
vance of salary." This also was referred to "the ladies of the 
congregation." We wonder if she got it. "The ladies of the 
congregation" were at any rate a very convenient refuge for 
the Vestry in handling the delicate case of Miss Jones. 

Mr. James Damant, as a volunteer organist, together with 
such singers as he could get, supplied the church music for 
years, but it is difficult to ascertain dates with any degree of 
accuracy, except that Mr. Damant resigned his position at the 
organ in 1873. 

On October 26, 1869, the new church being then nearly 
ready for use, the Vestry resolved that "as soon as $1,300 was 
subscribed towards the purchase of a new organ, the Secretary 
should authorize Mr. J. G. Marklove, of Utica, N. Y., to com- 
mence building the same according to specifications, and that 
the ladies be respectfully requested to devote the balance of 
money in their hands, after paying for the chancel furniture, 
towards the purchase of the organ." 

In the spring of 1872 efforts were made to obtain sub- 
scriptions towards securing the services of an instructor of 
music, because the Rector thought that "systematic training of 
the choir" was necessary. Nothing seems to have come of 
this till the following April, when Mr. Damant resigned and 
Mr. Horace Hills, Jr., became "organist and choir-leader." 
The improvement in the music of the church thereafter and the 

121 



122 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

names of some of the "chief singers in the sanctuary" have 
been already noted. Mr. Hills remained in charge of the 
music until September 30, 1892. 

Early in 1877, with the consent of the Vestry, Dr. Hop- 
kins rearranged the choir-seats. 

Prior to 1879 the salary of the organist was paid by pri- 
vate subscription, but on September 22 of this year the Vestry 
formally assumed the obligation. On November 2, 1885, the 
organist's salary was advanced from $400 to $600, and he was 
requested to train "the younger people of the church for the 
choir." A year later the salary was made $700. 

The resolution to organize a vested male choir was passed 
February 23, 1888, and the new choir sang for the first time 
on the following Easter. Three years later the choir-room 
was enlarged. 

Mr. Hills resigned his position in September, 1892, after 
nearly twenty years' faithful and fruitful service, to take the 
work at Mount Calvary, Baltimore, where he remained until 
his death, the latter part of January, 1908. He and his family 
had many friends in Williamsport whom they occasionally 
visited. His body was brought here from Baltimore and 
buried from Christ Church, the pallbearers being all former 
members of the choir under his direction. 

Mr. Hills was succeeded by Mr. H. DeKoven Rider, who 
entered upon his duties November 1, 1892, and remained for 
two years. The full choral service was introduced on Sunday 
evenings, and a "monthly musical service" was instituted, at 
which, under his inspiring direction, such splendid composi- 
tions as the following were sung: Stainer's "The Cruci- 
fixion;" Gaul's "The Holy City;" Mendelssohn's "Hear My 
Prayer;" Garrett's "The Two Advents;" Gaul's "The Ten 
Virgins;" Gounod's "Gallia;" Stainer's "The Daughter of 
Jairus;" Parry's "Job;" Mendelssohn's "The Forty-Second 
Psalm," and Stainer's "St. Mary Magdalena." That record 
has been kept up ever since. 

The custom of an annual choir-dinner began during this 
period, a gracious undertaking associated chiefly with the name 



Choir and Music 123 

of Mrs. E. P. Almy and the young ladies whose assistance she 
enlists from year to year. Some of these affairs have been on 
an elaborate scale and all of them have been delightful. The 
dinner and the "summer outing" are the two focal points of the 
year to the choir on its social side, which invariably awaken 
the greatest enthusiasm. 

A choir baseball club has been another off-set to the more 
serious work of this for many years splendid musical organ- 
ization. 

At first the choir boys used to be rewarded with a "Christ- 
mas dollar," in addition to the "treats" of which mention has 
been made, but about the first of the year 1894 the system of 
small weekly payments was adopted, and later still the monthly 
"pay-day," with its regular pay-roll, came to be a feature of 
choir experience. Occasionally the choir was, as it still is, 
treated to some form of entertainment, as when, for example, 
several gentlemen many years ago gave the choir boys tickets 
to see Kellar, the magician. 

Some of the choir notes from the parish paper of fifteen 
years ago, edited by choir members themselves, are funny 
enough to merit quotation and may possibly contain useful 
warnings to the present-day choir boys: 

"Willie R makes a face as though he had a pain 

when he sings." 

"Willie S has a good voice, but sings too hard 

sometimes, and, therefore, harshly." 

"Harry F , after a long and hard contest, has been 

chosen soprano soloist. He feels proud and carries his head 
high." 

"The music for Easter Day is very hard, but in the few 
rehearsals we have had on it we begin to get the best of it." 

"Some of our boys ought to be more particular about 
combing their hair before services. At present the effect of 
some heads is not very pleasing." 

"G M would sing more effectively if he 

would hold his head up." 

"C S likes to look down on the congregation 



124 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

during services. He had better take care that Mr. Rider does 
not notice it, for Mr. R. is pretty severe on us in this kind of 
thing." 

And more of the same sort. Pretty good criticism. 

One of these "choir notes," written in the same style, we 
shall quote, with the name in full, because the admiration ex- 
pressed we know to have been well deserved: 

"Our crucifer, Fred Zahn, we think is the model crucifer 
around this part of the country. For reverence and dignity 
he takes the lead." 

Miss Louise Larzelere became organist and choirmistress 
October I, 1894. From "Christ Church Chorister," published 
in the interest of the "Choir Boys" in August, 1898, a large 
eight-page leaflet that appeared once and then expired, we 
gather several items of special interest : 

The choir numbered 21 boys and 8 men. Romaine 
Moorehead, who entered the choir at eight years of age, at- 
tended 630 services and rehearsals out of a possible 642 in 
thirty months, had been fined but four times, and had been 
paid $26.20. Charlie Page, Walter Zahn, and Alvin Longs- 
dor f had records not far below Moorehead's. The average 
attendance during the winter of 1897-8 was 28, although the 
seating capacity of the choir was only 25. The probationers 
were paid two cents for each attendance, which was raised to 
three cents when they entered the choir, and then to five and 
six cents according to progress. Between October, 1894, and 
August, 1898, there had been 98 boys enrolled in the choir, of 
whom 18 were dismissed on account of age, 11 were expelled 
for bad behavior, and several had dropped out for various rea- 
sons. This is incidental to boy-choir work and inevitable. 
There were only two boys in the choir at that time whose 
parents attended Christ Church. The music library could not 
be replaced for $300 and was then twice as large as three years 
before. It contained 19 Te Deums, 105 Anthems, 12 Mag- 
nificats, etc. Excepting during July and August, v/hen re- 
hearsals were held from 8 to 9 in the morning, there were five 
regular rehearsals and two services a week — Tuesdays, 4-5 p. 



Choir and Music 125 

m., altos; Tuesdays, 5-6 p. m., sopranos; Tuesdays, 7:15-8:15 
p. m v tenors and basses ; Thursdays, 5-6 p. m., sopranos and 
altos ; Fridays, 7 :30-8 :30 p. m., full choir and organ. 

The record of such details is not without value, perhaps, 
as giving the congregation a clearer impression of the patient 
and persistent routine work of the organist and choir. 

Mr. George P. Crocker, who described himself as a mem- 
ber of the old chorus choir, and a charter member of the new 
vested choir, said in the "Christ Church Chorister:" "During 
the last days of Dr. Hopkins's rectorship the congregation was 
compelled to listen to a very indifferent aggregation of singers 
known as a 'Chorus Choir.' It was located on both sides of 
the church, occupying space where the font and the pulpit now 
stand." While the decision to "try the experiment of a boy- 
choir" was made by the Vestry, Mr. Crocker credits Mr. Hills 
with being its "prime mover and organizer." 

For some time prior to the autumn of 1894 the church 
organ, which had suffered in the flood of 1889, and again to a 
lesser degree earlier in the year 1894, was in bad condition 
and had to be replaced for a time by the Sunday School organ. 
A "choir note" of this period facetiously observes that "the 
organist never begins a service without placing a candle, screw- 
driver, and some wire conveniently near by ; because very often 
our organ needs attention during services and he has to climb 
around and doctor matters." Bids were received for a new 
instrument, and after Mr. Hills had been requested by the 
Vestry to come from Baltimore to aid in examining the bids, 
and none had been found satisfactory, he was authorized to 
draw specifications, and new bids were called for. The con- 
tract was awarded (November 9, 1894) to Johnson & Son, of 
Westfield, Mass., for an instrument to cost $2,400 and the old 
organ exclusive of case. Two months later the organ com- 
mittee reported that sufficient had been subscribed to pay for 
the organ and all incidental expenses. In order to obviate any 
such damage in the future as had injured the old organ, the 
new instrument was built over the vestry-room. The work 
of installation was not completed until April, 1895. 



126 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

For several years an appropriation of $1,500 a year was 
made by the Vestry, out of which the organist was to pay the 
boys, buy new music, and have the organ tuned and kept in 
repair. The balance was to be the organist's salary. This 
plan was given up later and a flat salary of $720 paid the or- 
ganist, which has since been increased to a sum more com- 
mensurate with the importance of the position. 

In order to complete this outline of choir history it will 
be sufficient to add that Mrs. Chatham (nee Larzelere) was 
succeeded by Mr. William B. Reeve in 1899, who served three 
years and was followed by the present incumbent, Mr. Frank 
Gatward, 1 a licentiate of the London College of Music, under 
whose tuition and direction much progress has been made. 
Three of the special musical programmes rendered, in addition 
to the Union Evensong on January 25, 1904, already men- 
tioned, were Maunder's popular "Thanksgiving Cantata," No- 
vember 30, 1905, repeated the following year, and the same 
composer's "Penitence, Pardon and Peace," March 6, 1910. 

At the request of the Knights Templar the choir has on 
several occasions rendered service on Ascension Day in the 
Masonic Temple; while the boys, trained by Mr. Gatward in 
quaint drills and songs, have for a number of years been a 
feature of "local talent" performances for charitable objects. 

On the death of Mr. Horace Hills, a former organist of 
the church, as also on the death of Mr. William H. Kilbourn, 
Mr. Gatward, at the succeeding Sunday evening service, gave 
a short recital, "In Memoriam." Not only was the tribute 

lMr. Gatward was born in the Diocese of St. Alban's, England, 
and after graduating at the London College of Music in 1881, was 
appointed in succession organist and choirmaster of the following 
churches: Great Gaddeston (1 year); Berkhampstead (11 years); 
came to America in 1893; St. Luke's Cathedral, Halifax, N. S. (5 
years); Gethsemane, Minneapolis; Cathedral Church, South Beth- 
lehem; and 1902, Christ Church, Williamsport. 

Mr. Gatward is examiner in this country for the London Col- 
lege of Music, vice-president of the London Guild of Organists, 
honorary representative of the Royal Academy of Music and joint 
founder of the American Guild of Organists, New York. [Ed.] 



Choir and Music 127 

thoughtful and kind, but the time selected enabled nearly every 
member of the parish to attend, and by their presence express 
their sense of loss. 

In October, 1905, the Sunday Choral Evensong, which 
had lapsed, was revived and has since been maintained. 

For several years Mrs. H. Y. Otto and Mrs. Fred Zahn 
have, in the absence of Mr. Gatward, presided at the organ, 
while Mrs. Frank Gatward has taken charge of the Wednes- 
day evening service and Mr. Dan Thomas given assistance. 

The choir of girls' voices for some of the Lenten, Ad- 
vent and week-day services should not be overlooked, nor 
the work and time that Mr. Gatward, Mrs. Gatward, the 
Misses Lumley and others have freely given to their training. 

The annual outing of the choir boys — two weeks — at Nip- 
pono Park continues to be popular. The boys have a spacious 
cabin in which they "camp," avoiding most of the ordinary 
drudgery by obtaining their meals at the Park restaurant. 

The choir's present repertoire consists of Anthems ; ser- 
vices of standard church musicians, such as Stainer, Goss, 
Stanford, Hollins, Coleridge-Taylor, Tertius Noble, Gounod, 
Roberts, Garrett, Martin, Smart, Monk, Steggal, Burnett, 
Ouseley, Barnby, West, Woodward, etc. ; while excerpts from 
the masterpieces of Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, 
Sullivan, and Haydn are sometimes given. 

The personnel of the choir, Easter, 1910, was: 

Basses — G. P. Crocker, F. Zahn, J. MacCollum, D. 
Thomas, E. Ball, F. Newel, C. Levering. 

Tenors— W. Zahn, W. H. Deibert, L. Heller, W. Bennett, 
R. Allen, M. Dutton. 

Altos— H. Vandine, W. Erieg, F. Otto, C. Frank. 

Sopranos — C. Rose, E. Zahn, G. Eyster, A. Page, R. 
Frank, A. Schradie, D. Harman, R. Erieg, C. Leaber, P. Meth- 
erel, R. Segart, C. Teupel, L. Bullard, R. Metherel, J. Erieg, 
J. W. Fulmer, J. Steel, L. Neal, H. Ardell. 



Summary Notes 



THE MONEY PROBLEM. 



The question of ways and means is always conspicuous 
upon the administrative side of parish life. A few words on 
this subject will be proper. 

We have already seen that the early struggles of Christ 
Church were those of the feeblest mission. If, as is generally 
supposed, and not unreasonably, the salary paid the minister 
is any gauge of the financial strength of the parish, then we 
have every stage of parish strength exhibited in the history 
of this parish. 

Who, and how many, gave the $3,000 for the building 
of the first church on East Third Street — a structure of brick, 
be it remembered — and how the money was gathered, when 
as yet there were but 14 communicants, none of the records 
disclose. But the building was paid for and consecrated as 
soon as completed. No salary was paid the minister, the 
Rev. Mr. Lightner. 

No light is thrown upon the amount of the rector's stipend 
until we come to the beginning of Mr. Clark's incumbency in 
1846, when we find the Missionary Society of Grace Church, 
Philadelphia, stipulating to pay $400 a year for three years, 
provided the parish pay annually $200 for the same period and 
extinguish a $650 debt. A fair the next year netted $275 
towards cancelling this debt, and at the end of the stipulated 
time it was entirely wiped out. The parish was received into 
union with the convention that year (1847), an indication, we 
think, that it must have been meeting its engagements. One 
can only conjecture that the pitiably small salary of the earlier 
rectors had been supplemented by the "Advancement Society" 
of the Diocese (corresponding, perhaps, to the later Diocesan 
Missionary Board), because we find aa offering of $2.35 



129 



130 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

collected for this society in 1841. Mr. Clark's salary of $300 
was paid regularly. 1 

Mr. Cooper was promised a salary of $500 besides $100 
for removal expenses, and the free use of a house until the 
rectory, then building, should be completed; but ten months 
later the Vestry found it had undertaken too much. 

The parish pledged Mr. Moore $400 and the rectory, and 
at the same time requested the "Diocesan Missionary Society" 
to continue the aid they had been giving. How much that 
was we do not know, but it and the stipend did not make a 
sufficient salary, for it was hoped Lock Haven would add its 
quota for one-fourth of the minister's time. By 1861 the 
parish was entirely out of debt and had just become self-sus- 
taining — no longer a mission. The rector's salary was now 
$650 plus the rectory. In 1864 it was raised to $800, but when 
he resigned, in the spring of 1865, the salary was $400 in 
arrears. 

When Mr. Wadleigh was called he was promised $1,000 
and the rectory. 

Dr. Paret was called at a salary of "not less than $2,000 
a year" and the rectory. He received $2,266 the second year, 
the total amount of the offerings at the morning services, and 
was voted $2,400 for the third year. Meantime the parish 
was paying for its new church. In 1872 the "expenditures 
and appropriations" amounted to more than $10,200; and this 
is a sample of the large sums annually disbursed, with some 
fluctuations, of course, throughout the rectorships of Dr. 
Paret and Dr. Hopkins. 

The salary paid Dr. Hopkins was $2,000, and Mr. Graff 
received $2,200. 

One cannot but admire the courage and energy with 
which, throughout the entire period of this "History" new en- 

1 Mr. Black, who succeeded Mr. Clark, seems to have suffered 
from lack of funds, while Mr. Wright, who succeeded him, was 
guaranteed $400 plus any sum arising from rent of house on the 
parsonage lot from the time of his election till the 1st of April next 
ensuing. [Ed.] 



The Money Problem 131 

terprises were undertaken and the funds raised to pay for them. 
Eight years after the first church was built a "parsonage lot" 
was purchased for $500 (and a $400 organ the same day!), 
and four years later the Rector (Mr. Clark) moved into a 
$2,250 brick rectory, covered, however, with a $1,000 mort- 
gage. In less than three years that debt was wiped out, $350 
worth of repairs were put on the church, and the rectory 
was piped and fitted with gas. Next year it was gas into the 
church and water into the rectory at an expense of about 
$250. 

Then in 1864 the Vestry bought the brick house at the 
rear of the church for $800 for a school building — Sunday and 
day school. 

Next came the project of a new church, beginning with 
an expenditure of $4,000 for the lot and an expenditure of 
$40,000 for the church, without the carrying up of the tower. 
The burden of that expense was felt for many a long year, 
but Church extension was not allowed to suffer on account 
of the big debt. The parish had a good many "irons in the 
fire" at the same time. Wadleigh Chapel was built and an 
assistant minister got. The new church had to be furnished, 
and a $2,000 organ installed. When the church was opened 
the debt amounted to nearly $17,000. The sale of the old 
church reduced this to about $12,000. But then came the 
division of the Diocese, and the parish put $2,160 into the 
Episcopate Endowment Fund in less than two years after mov- 
ing into the new church. There seems to have been no' dispo- 
sition to whine or shirk outside responsibilities because the 
parish had a big debt. 

Meantime schools and clubs and chapels and charities 
were under way or freshly started up, all calling for and re- 
ceiving maintenance, while at the same time diocesan missions 
and foreign missions and home missions were not passed by 
without fair and reasonable attention. Nor did the extraordi- 
nary calls like those of the fire sufferers in the West in 1871 
fall on unheeding ears, for nearly $360 was sent them in the 
very same year that over $2,000 was paid the Diocesan Endow- 



132 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

ment Fund and the church debt was being reduced. One is 
amazed at the courage and generosity of those days. 

Ten years after its completion, save the tower, the 
church was paid for and consecrated. But then began large 
expenditures for adornment, memorial gifts, chapel building, 
assistants' salaries, and various forms of aggressive work 
under Dr. Hopkins. The parish building of stone cost 
$8,500 in 1 88 1, the tiling of the church cost $1,200, the steam- 
heating apparatus for the church cost over $2,000, St. John's 
Chapel cost nearly $2,000, the debt on Wadleigh Chapel was 
paid off and the building consecrated, a Mansard story was 
added to the rectory at the Rector's own expense, and so it 
went. 

Under Mr. Graff the tower of the church was finished, 
at a cost of $5,300 — meantime chapel support, charities, new 
piano, sidewalks, repairs and refurnishing necessitated by 
flood ; the last a big expense. 

The thirty years from 1865 to 1895 exhibit great achieve- 
ments. But peeping within the covers of the vestry minute- 
books, or reading the parish papers of this period, we discover 
that it was not without many anxious meetings of the Vestry 
nor without much gasping and prodding on the part of the 
rectors. What a sigh of relief went up in 1879 on learning 
that the last notes of debt on the new church had been taken 
up. How tired and sore the Vestry was after that ten or 
fifteen years' struggle can be read between the lines of a reso- 
lution passed two months before the consecration of the 
church, which now makes one smile who reads it: "Resolved: 
That, after the present indebtedness of the church is cancelled, 
no debt shall hereafter be created until the money is in the 
hands of the Treasurer to pay the same" ! ! ! 

One can read formidable lists of "liabilities," and count 
up big sums paid as interest or borrowed money. Yet no 
sooner out of debt and smiling than in again. Thus has much 
been accomplished. Thus have others labored while their 
successors enter into their labors. It is what a progressive 
world is doing all the while, and a church to be progressive 



The Money Problem 133 

and follow the high ideals set by the Master can do no less. 
Stagnation is death. 

Before leaving this subject a word should be said about 
the creation of a parochial endowment fund by legacies. Upon 
Major Perkins's death, in 1893, the church received a bequest 
of $4,000, Scranton Street Railway 6's, and $500 Williamsport 
Gas Company bonds, the yield of $500 to be used in keeping 
up the decedent's grave and the yield on the balance to be used 
for the support of the parish. 1 Miss Agnes Montgomery left 
$500 in Lycoming Electrical Company 5's, which was 
added to the endowment fund. A few years later Mr, 
Josiah Howard, of Emporium, gave $7,500 Northern Pacific 
3's to this fund in memory of his father, Charles B. Howard, 
and the fund was still further augmented by a bequest of 
$5,000, Northern Pacific 3's, of Mr. J. V. Brown. At present 
the fund, owing to reinvestments, produces about $800 annu- 
ally. In addition to this fund there has recently been started, 
through a contribution of $50 from Mr. H. Y. Otto, a pa- 
rochial endowment fund, the income from which is also to* be 
applied to current expenses. Aided by an offering taken in 
the church, and by reinvestments, the fund now amounts to 
$150. It is hoped that members of the parish will contribute 
small sums to it from time to time during their lifetimes, till 
it produces annually at least an amount equal to the rector's 
salary. 

Nor should the addition of $3,150 to the Diocesan Episco- 
pate Fund upon the erection of the new Diocese of Harrisburg 
be overlooked. 

iThis bequest of Major Perkins is of particular importance, 
as it started the endowment fund. [Ed.] 




WADLEIGH (ST. MARY'S) CHAPEL 



Summary Notes 



WADLEIGH (ST. MARY'S) CHAPEL. 



The beginnings of this important work have already been 
noted in their proper place. It is proposed here merely to 
summarize its subsequent development. 

On July io, 1870, there was first used the fine-toned bell 
which had been purchased with the offerings made by the 
Sunday School for that purpose. 

The "Parish Guide" for October, 1870, states that a night 
school for colored boys and men, prevented by their work 
from attending schools during the day, was being held at the 
mission chapel, and that 30 pupils were present at the previous 
session. The Rector appeals for old school-books to help on 
the good work. By February of the next year the school was 
transferred to the building on the old church lot, formerly 
used for a parish school. The school met regularly through- 
out the winter on Monday and Thursday nights, with an aver- 
age attendance of 30. Mr. Martin Powell and Mrs. Paret 
were the teachers. The next winter the school went to< Miss 
Cortwright's school-room on Grove Street. 

In October, 1871, Mrs. J. V. Brown became the principal 
of the sewing school. In Mr. Graff's time (twenty years 
later) Miss Rose Bentley and Mrs. Girard are named as being 
in charge, and an average attendance of over 40 is recorded. 

Data regarding the building of the present St. Mary's 
(Wadleigh Memorial) Chapel seem strangely lacking, but 
the present writer has the impression that it was built in Dr. 
Hopkins's time, and from sundry memoranda of payments on 
the debt infers that it must have cost about $i5,ooo. 1 

A mortgage for nearly $765 yet hung over Wadleigh 
Chapel in July, 1888. 

lThe old chapel, turned into a double dwelling, still stands at 
Almond and Meade Streets. The new church, at Almond and Menne 
Alley, is some two squares distant. The fund that made the new 

135 



136 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Much of the progress of this mission, from the autumn 
of 1889 onward, was due to the "Wadleigh Workers." Mr. 
Charles L. Girard was its "warden" or president, and Mr. 
Jacob Springman its treasurer. Among its gifts to the chapel 
may be mentioned a crimson plush dossal in the fall of 1890. 

In January, 1890, the altar, behind which there had been 
till this time an "ambulatory" or passage, was moved back 
against the east wall of the chancel, thus enlarging the sanc- 
tuary. 

A Jardine pipe organ, costing $600, was installed in the 
chapel and first used on July 27, 1890. The church was 
crowded on this occasion, and it is recorded that many stood 
on the outside and looked through the windows. 

A club of young- men was organized in the fall of 1890, 
whose first enterprise was the enlargement of the choir-room 
by adding about 40 feet to its length. Mr. Samuel McCoy 
was its first president, and Mr. Watson Pass its first secre- 
tary-treasurer. 

In the summer of this year (1890) it is reported that the 
chapel had over 100 weekly contributors to its support. 

About this time the chapel received the gift of a hand- 
some brass altar-cross from Mr. Charles V. Runkle, who was 
also its designer. 

Early in the winter of 1890 a young women's choir was 
formed to assist at the Thursday night services. 

In the fall of 1891 a "Sewing Chapter" of the Wadleigh 
Workers was organized, with Mrs. Bridgeland as president 
and Mrs. Calehoof as secretary-treasurer. 

In March, 1892, an average attendance of 12 teachers 
and 187 scholars in the Sunday School is noted. 

In October, 1892, the Wadleigh Workers developed a 

church possible was largely collected through the efforts of Miss 
Susan Emily Hall. At the time the money was being raised the 
Rev. Charles Edward Dobson was curate. His energy, enthusiasm 
and devotion to the work of the chapelry at this critical period of 
its existence cannot be overestimated. Mr. Dobson resigned his 
curacy before the new church was dedicated, but was present when 
it was consecrated. [Ed.] 



Wadleigh (St. Mary's) Chapel 137 

"Social Chapter," especially intended to care for the younger 
communicants, the gathering - in of the lukewarm and cold, 
and the promotion of the social interests of the people. 

On the Sunday before Christmas, 1892, a new choir, com- 
prising seven boys, fourteen girls, and six men took its place. 

A set of sterling silver communion plate of Gorham manu- 
facture with the name of the chapel engraved on each piece, 
and costing $50, was blessed by the Bishop at his visitation, 
April 22, 1893. 

In Advent, 1893, Mr. Charles V. Runkle gave the chapel 
a brass altar desk in memory of his father, Mr. Nelson Runkle. 

Mr. Runkle began his services as superintendent of Wad- 
leigh Chapel Sunday School in 1877, and continued in this 
position for over twenty-five years, with a splendid record for 
regularity and faithfulness that cannot be forgotten by the 
admiring and loyal people of this chapelry and congregation. 

On June 1, 1894, Wadleigh, with its name changed to 
St. Mary's Church, "set up housekeeping for itself," under 
the rectorship of the Rev. Morris W. Christman x who had 

1 The Rev. Mr. Christman had been a German Reformed min- 
ister, and was one of several ministers of that communion who 
came into the Episcopal Church within a brief period. He was 
ordained deacon by Bishop Rulison in June, 1891, and after serving 
as missionary at Milton, he, in July, 1891, became assistant to the 
Rev. Mr. Graff. He was advanced to the priesthood November, 1892. 
Wadleigh Chapel greatly nourished during his time as has abund- 
antly appeared elsewhere in this narrative, and when the chapel 
was to become a separate parish, June 1, 1894, under the new name 
of St. Mary's, Mr. Christman naturally became its first rector. Al- 
though a resident of Williamsport but a few years, he was widely 
known in the city and had the highest respect and affection of 
all classes. Mrs. Christman, it is needless to add for any who 
have known her, shared in this regard. It is an interesting fact 
that at the time when St. Mary's Church was admitted to union 
with the Diocesan Convention as a parish, it had the largest Sun- 
day School in the Archdeaconry. 

In 1893 Mr. Christman endeavored to persuade the Vestry of 
Christ Church to build a parish house for the chapel, but without 
success, owing to its estimated cost. In 1895, the chapel having 
become a separate parish, a lot (that on which the present rectory 



138 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

been serving as assistant. The Vestry of Christ Church 
agreed to pay $500 towards the support of St. Mary's the 
first year of its independence and a yearly sum thereafter for 
four years, one hundred dollars less each year. This agree- 
ment was faithfully carried out to the letter, and more. 1 



stands) was purchased. On the lot was a barn and an ice house, so 
the men of the parish, led by their Rector, took to carpenter work 
in the evenings so effectively that in a short time they had trans- 
formed the barn into a serviceable house with two rooms. Furni- 
ture of various vintages was given and the place made habitable, 
while the old ice house was "run up to the rear" of the reorganized 
building and for a long time did valiant service as kitchen. [Ed.] 

1 The Rev. John Conley Grimes is the present rector of St. 
Mary's. The number of communicants is given as 230; of Sunday 
School scholars, 150. [Ed.] 



Summary Notes 



ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL. 



As already stated, the establishment of this work on the 
south side was due to the missionary zeal of the Rev. Dr. 
Hopkins. 

The name of Captain William Sweeley will be af- 
fectionately recalled by the mention of St. John's Chapel. 
Through all the vicissitudes of its early history and until the 
time of his lamented death, May 12, 1903, Captain William 
Sweeley, as Superintendent of the Sunday School, lay-reader, 
and lay-administrator, was the mainstay of St. John's. 

When the first anniversary of the chapel was celebrated, 
on Low Sunday, 1888, the Sunday School was reported to be 
in a flourishing and most encouraging condition. 1 The people 
were gladdened on this occasion by the presence and words 
of the Rev. Mr. Black, a former rector of the parish. Two 
years later, February, 1890, an attendance of 174 in the Sun- 
day School was recorded. A sewing school under Mrs. 
Sweeley had prospered during the year, with a membership 
of about 65 girls. 

The Bishop Hopkins Guild has wrought valiantly through- 
out the history of this chapelry for the material and moral 
upbuilding of the work. To this body of earnest young peo- 
ple was due the purchase of the first furnace for heating the 
chapel and the carpet for the aisles. The oak pews were 
paid for by the Ladies' Aid Society and cost $1,600 ( ?). The 
Sunday School paid for the organ. 

In April, 1890, a street-lamp was erected in front of the 
chapel, through the efforts of Mrs. Gibson and Sunday 
School scholars. 

By the generous contribution of lumber by Mr. Perley 

1 Organized Low Sunday, 1887, in the old Armory Building. 

139 



140 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

and another gentleman, the "infant-room," or vestry, was en- 
larged in the fall of 1890. 

The lectern Bible was given by Captain Sweeley, Christ- 
mas, 1890. 

Beginning with the second Sunday in April, 1891, the 
afternoon service was changed to the morning as an experi- 
ment. 

The financial administration of the chapel at this time 
involved the annual payment of $200 to the Vestry towards 
the salary of the assistant minister, a like sum being asked of 
Wadleigh Chapel. This arrangement continued for several 
years with varying success, the $200 being generally some- 
what beyond the ability of this chapelry. 

The new chancel rail took the place of an "old ten-foot 
bar" in October, 1891, and the Bishop Hopkins Guild supplied 
the pews with book-racks, prayer books, and hymnals. 

A "jelly closet" was started about the same time to 
supply delicacies to the sick. A similar one was established at 
the parish church and Wadleigh Chapel. Systematic efforts 
were also' made the same winter by the guild for beautifying 
the chapel and also for caring for the poor and providing 
clothing for the needy. The vestry-room was also fitted out 
with conveniences for holding services there instead of in the 
chapel itself. 

A re-table was added to the altar Christmas, 1891, the 
gift of Captain Sweeley. Here may be noted the interesting 
fact that it has been the custom of St. John's Chapel, through 
a long term of years, for the guilds or individuals to make a 
"Christmas present" to the chapel of some needed article of 
use or adornment. The exchange of Christmas presents by 
scholars, teachers, and officers at the time of and in connec- 
tion with the Sunday School festival has also for years been 
the pleasing custom of the chapel people. 

Not forgetful to help others, St. John's Chapel cheered 
the mission at Watsontown by the gift of an altar service 
and chancel prayer book, Easter, 1892. 

Altar cloths of the proper ecclesiastical colors were made 
by the Ladies' Aid Society in the summer of 1892. 



St. John's Chapel 141 

A handsome Sunday School banner, designed by Mr. J. 
E. Jones and worked by Miss Ann Bentley, was used for the 
first time on Easter, 1893. 

The Bishop Hopkins Guild supplied the chapel with a 
cassock and full set of stoles in the fall of 1893. 

A conveniently arranged book-case for the Sunday School 
library was installed in the winter of 1893. 

The chapel was consecrated by Bishop Talbot May 9th, 
1898. 

In March, 1907, a brass altar-cross, in memory of Captain 
William Sweeley, was given by some of his friends in the 
Sunday School and chapel. At the same time as the cross was 
blessed the handsome candlesticks now on the altar, presented 
anonymously, were also dedicated to the Church's worship. 

The communicants of the parish, Easter, 1910, numbered 
83, and the members of the Sunday School 165. 

The presentation of the lot on which the new church 
stands by Messrs. Henry J. Lutcher and G. T. Bedell Moore, 
and of the church itself by Mr. G. T. Bedell Moore, has been 
dealt with in detail in the account of Mr. Jones's rectorship. 
The memorials to Mr. Moore, given by his widow and his 
sisters, have also been recorded. 



Summary Notes 

GIFTS, MEMORIALS AND THANKOFFERINGS. 



The following summary of gifts, memorials, and thank- 
offerings presented to the church during the latter half of the 
period under review may well quicken the gratitude and emu- 
lation of the present-day members of the parish : 

April, 1870. Church woman gives $10 for oak chest for 
altar vestments. From three gentlemen, the drawings for an 
altar and chancel rail for Wadleigh Chapel; the material for 
same sawed to pattern in oak ; the money needed for complet- 
ing them. From another, violet bookmarks for the Bible. 
From another, 50 prayer books for Wadleigh. From another, 
25 hymnals for Wadleigh. From Miss Susan E. Hall, a beau- 
tiful violet altar-cloth, the embroidery having been done by 
Miss Anne C. Norris, of Erie, Pa. 

May, 1870. From a lady, white bookmarks for the lec- 
tern. Fair white linen cloths for the altar, material and gift 
from Miss Susan E. Flail; needlework by Miss Lizzie Shoe- 
maker, of St. James's Church, Muncy. From Mr. E. H. 
Biggs, two beautiful chalices, value $100. 

June, 1870. From Miss Susan E. Hall, red altar-cloth, 
part of needlework done by Miss Sarah Bonine, of Muncy. 

November, 1870. From Mr. F. N. Page, vestry-room 
furniture, value $81.50. 

Easter, 1871. From donor anonymous at the time (Mrs. 
Louisa Logan), for private communion service, $25, with 
which a silver paten and chalice of convenient size were pro- 
cured. 1 

May, 1872. From the Dorcas Society, articles of altar 
linen. From the Brotherhood, window over the vestry-room 

lThis was later inscribed to the memory of the Rev. Albra 
Wadleigh. [Ed.] 

143 



144 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

door, with crossed keys and pastoral staff as emblems of the 
pastoral office. 

June, 1872. Two thankofferings aggregating $105, used 
for purchase of a silver flagon, which was first used on Sun- 
day, July 7th. Among the offerings on the Sunday after 
Ascension Day, $100, marked as "a thankoffering for special 
mercies, to be used for church objects as the Rector may judge 
best." 

October, 1872. Thankoffering for recovery from sick- 
ness, $5.00, for communion plate. 

December, 1872. Completion of the altar-linen and of "a 
tasteful dress and blanket, to be lent as occasion may require 
for bringing infants to baptism." A second alms-chest was 
put in, on the east side of the church. 

January, 1873. Thankoffering from person unknown, 
$5.00, accompanied by these words : "I present the enclosed 
sum as a thankoffering to Almighty God for the innumerable 
blessings showered upon me and mine during the past year, 
and for the kind care and protection He has ever exercised 
towards us. It seems almost presumptuous in one so deeply 
unworthy as I feel myself to be. But as He blessed the 
widow's mite, I trust He will not despise this humble tribute 
to His kindness and love." 

Christmas, 1873. Thankoffering accompanied by the fol- 
lowing words : "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His 
benefits toward me ? While others far more worthy have been 
steeped in poverty and wretchedness, God has dealt out His 
blessings to me and mine with an open hand. Accept, O 
Father, I beseech Thee, this my offering for all Thy mercies; 
and grant that the coming year may find us all more worthy of 
Thy love and kindness." 

July 5, 1874 (V. Trinity). "Thankoffering for special 
mercies," used for purchase of silver paten ; cost $46. 

April 8, 1878. Vestry adopts resolution of thanks to 
Miss Agnes Montgomery for gift of brass altar-desk. 

June 5, 1878. Vestry thanks Mrs. Charles Tiffany for 
gift of Bishop's-chair. 



Gifts, Memorials and Thankofferings 145 

July 8, 1878. Vestry thanks Miss Susan E. Hall for gift 
of embroidered green lectern antependium. 

April 6, 1880. Vestry thanks Mrs. C. F. Ranstead for 
white lectern antependium, given in memory of her child, 
Encie Amy Ranstead. 

December 26, 1882. Vestry thanks Mrs. A. L. Wiley for 
stained-glass window in memory of her father, Chief Justice 
Lewis. Subject: "The Judgment." 

April 13, 1885. Vestry thanks Major J. H. Perkins for 
stained-glass window in memory of Mrs. Perkins. Subject: 
"The Annunciation." 

April 13, 1885. Vestry thanks ladies of the church for 
having the chancel and aisles tiled. Cost, $1,200. 

February, 1889. From Mrs. J. H. Cochran, through Dr. 
Saylor-Brown, a reclining chair for the use of the sick poor. 

October, 1889. Handsome new lectern Bible purchased. 

All Saints', 1889. Exquisite large brass eagle-lectern, 
with memorial inscription, in memory of Mrs. Josephine White 
Munson, the gift of her husband, Mr. C. LaRue Munson. In- 
scription : "In Memory of Josephine White Munson, 1856- 
1889." 

November, 1889. From the Altar Society of St. Mark's 
Church, Philadelphia, a white stole. 

January, 1890. Platform and benches for "infant school," 
lumber contributed by Mr. Edgar Munson. Benches cost $52. 
From "one of our ladies," several pieces of new altar-linen. 

March, 1890. The Rector thankfully records the pur- 
chase of a lot in Wildwood Cemetery, after a long effort to 
secure the money, where indigent parishioners and others can 
be buried. The lot cost $30. The Young Men's Guild pro- 
vides a signboard for the church. 

October, 1890. From an anonymous doner, a thankoffer- 
ing of $100 in gold, the first contribution towards the comple- 
tion of the tower. 

All Saints', 1890. From St. Mary's Guild, white brocade 
silk altar-cloth, exquisitely embroidered by the Sisters of 
Mercy at St. Mark's Church, Philadelphia. The central figure 



146 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

is an Agnus Dei, and on either side are adoring angels 
swinging their censers. Cost, $175. 

January, 1891. From Mrs. H. H. Cummin, brass altar- 
cross of unusual size (54 inches high) and superb design and 
workmanship, in memory of her husband, the Hon. Hugh 
Hart Cummin. 

January, 1891. From an anonymous donor, four copper 
alms-basins, inscribed with the name of the church. 

February, 1891. Made and presented to the Sunday 
School by Mrs. William A. F. Zahn, a white silk banner. 

Easter, 1891. From Mr. and Mrs. George H. Grove, a 
fine brass processional cross with copper-bronze medallions 
containing the Agnus Dei and emblems of the four evan- 
gelists ; in memory of their son, Harry H. Grove, at one time 
a chorister at Wadleigh Chapel. It bears a memorial inscrip- 
tion, as follows : 

"In memory of Harry Haswell Grove, 1873-1885. 
'Angels, sing on ! your faithful watches keeping ! 
Sing us sweet fragments of the songs above !' ' : 

Easter, 1891. From Mr. C. LaRue Munson, set of book- 
marks for the lectern Bible. 

April, 1 89 1. St. Mary's Guild provides large closet in 
guild-room for care of altar-hangings. St. John's Guild ap- 
propriates $9.50 for new music-closets in choir-room, and 
$7.00 for storm-doors at church tower. Also orders a croki- 
nole-board for guild-room. 

May, 1 89 1. St. Mary's Guild provides book-racks for 
the choir desks, at a cost of $14.25. The cost (to date) of re- 
pairs in the parish house occasioned by the flood of 1889 is re- 
ported to be $195.97; carpets and cushions in the church, 
$8y2.'/4; ventilators for the parish house, $98.10; and maps 
for the Sunday School, recently purchased, $13. 

I. Trinity, 1891. From Mrs. John White, exquisitely em- 
broidered green altar-cloth, with medallion of Christ the Good 
Shepherd embroidered in centre. 

October, 1891. From donor unnamed, cushion and kneel- 
ing-stool for Bishop's-chair. Pencil sketch portrait of Dr. 



Gifts, Memorials and Thankofferings 147 

Hopkins, Charles Crawford, artist, purchased, framed and 
hung in school-room (afterwards in guild-rooms) by some of 
the young people. Cost, $12. 

November, 1891. Upper back veranda of rectory en- 
closed to make a "sun-gallery" for winter plants. Lumber for 
same the gift of a parishioner. 

December, 1891. From Bishop White Prayer Book So- 
ciety, Philadelphia, 75 prayer books and hymnals for chapels 
and Sunday Schools. 

February, 1892. Prayer books and hymnals injured by 
flood rebound at the expense of a vestryman. 

March, 1892. An Edison mimeograph for copying music 
is procured. 

Easter, 1892. From Mrs. Burrell, two large brass can- 
delabra for altar-steps, each eight feet high and having 31 
lights. They bear the inscription : "In loving memory of 
James Albert Luther Burrell, M. D., 1847-1892," with the 
added words on one, "In Peace," and on the other, "In Hope." 

July, 1892. Two vestrymen promise each to pay one- 
fourth of the $4,000 indebtedness of the parish, and a third 
vestryman $250 of the amount, provided the balance is raised 
by April 1st, 1893. 

July, 1892. Brass pulpit in memory of the Rev. Dr. Hop- 
kins, a gift to the church by popular subscription. It cost 
$568.75, and bears the inscription : "To the Glory of God and 
in Pious Memory of the Rev. John Henry Hopkins, S. T. D., 
Rector 1876-1887." 

St. John's Guild presents new kneeling-cushions for the 
chancel at a cost of $12. St. Mary's Guild presents hand- 
somely embroidered red altar-cloth and stole. Cost, $110 and 
%22. From St. Mary's Guild, new chancel prayer books of re- 
vised edition. From Miss Elizabeth Logan, new linen cre- 
dence-cover. From Vestment Committee,* new clergy cassock. 
From Ministering Children's League, decorated china and 
toilet articles for vestry-room. 

Christmas, 1892. Check for $100 found in alms-plate for 
domestic and foreign missions. 



148 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

May, 1893. New hardwood floor laid in dining room and 
hall of rectory. Stone pavement laid on Mulberry and Fourth 
Streets in place of old wooden sidewalk. 

June, 1893. Smaller guild-room wall tinted and room 
newly furnished by St. Mary's Guild. Large rug provided 
for larger guild-room by the Mothers' Meeting, assisted by 
others. 

July, 1893. Church pews supplied by a parishioner with 
250 revised prayer books and hymnals, marked "Christ 
Church" in red letters. 

July, 1893. By deed of Miss Mary S. Lloyd and Miss 
Susan Lloyd, a lot in the Washington Street Cemetery for 
burial of the poor. 

October, 1893. By will of Major J. H. Perkins, $4,500 is 
bequeathed to the church, the interest on $4,000 of the same to 
be divided between the choir fund and current expenses. 

November, 1893. Evenden Brothers, florists, plant 
geranium beds on the church lawn. 

November, 1893. From Mrs. W. F. Logan and Miss 
Elizabeth Logan, a glass and silver cruet for Holy Com- 
munion, in memory of Harry W. Logan. 

March, 1897. Bequest of $500 for the endowment fund 
of the parish, by will of Miss Agnes Montgomery. 

May, 1900. On Ascension Day, Litany Desk, a thank- 
offering from Mrs. John White. 

November, 1900. Bequest of $7,500 presented by Mr. 
Josiah Howard in memory of his father, to be known as the 
"Charles B. Howard Memorial Fund." 

1900. Hymn boards, in memory of 

Mary Frances Dayton, 1826-1899 

Elizabeth Grafius Piatt, 1825-1896 

Samuel Lloyd Lehman, 1856- 1896 

James Stevenson Smythe, 1 841 -1899 

June, 1 901. Silver ewer for Rector's private communion 
set, presented by Mrs. Louisa Logan, in memory of her son, 
Harry W. Logan. 



Gifts, Memorials and Thankofferings 149 

Christmas, 1901. Window of the "Good Shepherd," pre- 
sented by Mr. G. T. Bedell Moore, in memory of his father, the 
Rev. Richard Channing Moore, replacing a former window of 
the same subject. 

1902. Baptismal shell, presented by Miss Ella Ryder, in 
memory of her niece, Rena Myers. 

1903. Altar vases, "To the Glory of God and in loving 
memory of Matilde Edith Graff, 1849- 1902. St. Mary's 
Guild." 

October, 1903. Gift of $200 from Mr. Josiah Howard, 
for the purchase of two pianos for the parish house. 

December, 1904. Bequest of $5,000 for the endowment 
fund, by will of James Van du Zee Brown. 

November, 1905. Memorial window to Edgar and Lucy 
Maria (Curtis) Munson, presented on All Saints' Day by their 
sons, Cyrus LaRue and Robert Hallam Munson. 

1905. Globes and mantel lights for church, from Allen 
P. Perley. 

1906. Lantern slides for Good Friday services, from 
Cyrus LaRue Munson. 

February, 1906. Furnishings for boys' room in new 
parish house, and billiard table, presented by Cyrus LaRue 
Munson. 

May, 1906. Bronze tablet in memory of her husband, 
John White, and of her son, John Allison White, presented 
by Mrs. John White ; unveiled May 29. 

June, 1906. Memorial window to James Van du Zee 
Brown, presented by his legatees, and unveiled June 4. 

November, 1906. Sanctuary rail in memory of Mrs. 
Carile Cone Brown, presented by her sisters, Mrs. Helen A. 
Piper and Mrs. Allen P. Perley, and placed in position No- 
vember 17. 

November, 1906. Wardrobe for the vestments of the 
Girls' Choir, presented by Mrs. Max Mitchell. 

December, 1906. Wardrobe for choir vestments, pre- 
sented by Mrs. H. Y. Otto. 



150 . Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

December, 1906. Set of lantern slides of Tissot's "Life 
of Christ," presented by Cyrus LaRue Mjunson. 

December, 1906. Plot of ground on Market Street, South 
Williamsport, as a site for church, parish house and parsonage 
for St. John's Mission, presented by Henry J. Lutcher and G. 
T. Bedell Moore, the latter being the son of the Rev. Richard 
Channing Moore, sometime rector of the parish. 

1907. Brass altar-cross, in memory of Captain William 
Sweeley, for St. John's Mission, presented by friends. 

1907. Candlesticks for altar of St. John's (anonymous). 

October, 1907. Memorial window to Valentine Smith 
Doebler and Elizabeth (Hepburn) Doebler, presented by mem- 
bers of the family, and unveiled October 17. 

October, 1907. Funds for Memorial Church to the Rev- 
erend Richard Chaning Moore, sometime rector of Christ 
Church, presented by his son, G. T. Bedell Moore. Mr. 
Moore's gift probably totaled $20,000. 

April, 1908. Brass bracket shelf for the font ewer, a 
memorial to Mary Elizabeth (Milliken) Beisser, presented by 
her husband, J. Fred Beisser. 

April, 1908. Electric fixtures for the new parish house, 
presented by Allen P. Perley, in memory of his first wife, Clara 
Scott (Lovejoy) Perley. 

April, 1908. Furnishings for a room for the "Brother- 
hood of St. Andrew" in the new parish house, presented by 
Joseph C. Righter, as a thankoffering for the recovery of his 
son, Washington Righter, 3rd, from serious illness. 

April, 1908. Furnishings for a room for "The Men's 
Club," in the new parish house, presented by William H. 
Crockett. 

May, 1908. Furnishings for the study and guest cham- 
ber of the new parish house, presented by Mr. and Mrs. George 
B. Breon. 

May, 1908. Windows for the new parish house. 

In memory of John Elcock Jones, presented by his 

widow, Mrs. Olivia Jones, and his daughter, Mrs. H. L. 

Lehman. (Placed in the vestry-room). 



Gifts, Memorials and Thankofferings 151 

In memory of John Melick Pursel, presented by his son, 
Thomas Pursel. 

In memory of Andrew and Bertha Lindlay, presented 
by their son, Arthur G. Lindlay. 

In memory of Casimer and Henrietta Edler Schiesley, 
presented by their daughter, Mrs. Charles M. Renaut. 

In memory of William Hugh Taylor, presented by his 
parents, Air. and Mrs. M. Eder Taylor. 

In memory of James Francis Starr, presented by his 
widow, Mrs. James Francis Starr. 

In memory of Horace Hills, presented by his widow, 
Mrs. Horace Hills. 

In memory of John F. Tomlinson, presented by his 
parents, Mr. and Mrs. William J. Tomlinson. 

In memory of William Humbert Kilbourn, presented by 
his friends. 

October, 1908. Twelve brass plates for inscriptions re- 
cording gifts to the new parish house, presented by Brua 
Keefer. 

October, 1908. Furnishings and fittings for kindergarten 
room in new parish house, presented by Mr. and Mrs. Frank 
C. Bowman. 

October, 1908. Curtain and scenery for stage in new 
parish house, presented by Mrs. Ackley P. Tuller. 

October, 1908. Furnishings and fittings for primary 
room, in new parish house, presented by Mrs. John White. 

October, 1908. Furnishings and fittings for ladies' guild 
room in new parish house, presented by Mrs. Allen P. Perley. 
November, 1908. Hall carpet for parish house, presented 
by Mrs. Charles Cochran. 

1908. Memorial window to G. T. Bedell Moore in St. 
John's Chapel, presented by his sisters, Misses Gertrude, Sarah 
Virginia and Emily Salter Moore. 

February, 1909. Reflectorscope, presented bv C. LaRue 
Munson. 

October, 1909. Memorial window to George Westle 
Baird, presented by his widow, Mrs. Susanna, and daughter, 
Alma A. Baird ; unveiled Eve of All Saints. 



152 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

Long and miscellaneous as this list is, it will readily 
enough be seen that it is by no means exhaustive, even for the 
periods covered by the dates given. The lack of records and 
of parish papers will explain some omissions ; the fuller allu- 
sion to the gifts and good works of the parish elsewhere in this 
narrative will explain others. What has been stated, however, 
sufficiently indicates the loyal and constant generosity of the 
people, the Christian modesty with which many of their gifts 
were made, and the widely and wisely directed interest of the 
rectors in planning and securing the things most useful and 
worthy to adorn the sanctuary, strengthen the parish, honor 
God, and advance the well-being of His people. 



Summary Notes 



THE PARISH IN ARCHDEACONRY 
AND DIOCESE. 



In its broader relations, Christ Church, Williamsport, has 
for at least the last forty years of its history been of great help 
and encouragement to the Diocese and Archdeaconry. It 
would be difficult, if not impossible, to note in detail the gifts 
to young and struggling missions elsewhere in the Diocese, 
made not only by the parish church, but also by its chapels. 
The names of Upper Fairfied, Watsontown, Northumberland, 
and others will occur to mind. 

The rectors of the parish, moreover, have always taken an 
active part in, and been fairly honored b}^, the Diocesan Con- 
vention. One of them at least, the Rev. Mr. Graff, served 
with ability for several years as Archdeacon of Williamsport. 
Several of them have been sent to the General Convention. 1 
As members of the Standing Committee, the Missionary Board, 
and of various standing or special committees of the Diocesan 
Convention, they have upheld the hands of the Bishop and done 
their part to strengthen and further the work of the Diocese. 

The lay deputies from this parish to the Diocesan Conven- 
tion have been no less useful and no less honored, and some of 
them likewise have been chosen to represent the Diocese in 
the General Convention. 

Several times in the history of the last seventy years the 
Diocesan Convention has met in Williamsport, the guest alter- 
nately of Christ Church and Trinity Church, the sister parish 
in every such case sharing with the host of the occasion in pro- 
viding entertainment for the members of the convention. For 
many years it has been the custom to hold the Winter Convo- 

l The present rector, Mr. Jones, was the first to be so honored 
since Dr. Hopkins's time. He was also a delegate to the Pan- 
Anglican Convention. [Ed.] 

153 



154 Chronicles of Christ Church Parish 

cation of the Archdeaconry in Williamsport, the entertaining 
parish on these occasions also being alternately Christ Church 
and Trinity. 

Christ Church, moreover, has frequently been favored 
with the presence and helpful words of many diocesan and 
missionary bishops and other distinguished visitors, thus on 
its part sharing in the wider acquaintance and larger work of 
the Church at large. The name and fame of the church and 
parish, enhanced by the record of its good works, by the dis- 
tinguished ability of some of its rectors, and by the social, 
civic, and professional prominence of some of its lay-people, 
have gone abroad in the American Church, and there is no 
member of the parish but may feel with St. Paul, when he 
made allusion to Tarsus of Cilicia, that he is "a citizen of no 
mean city." 



Summary Notes 



CONCLUDING WORDS. 



Thus are we brought to the close of this narrative. If 
ever, from the history of their past, a people might be cheered 
with encouragement and stimulated to good works and great 
deeds in the present, and face the future with good courage 
and high determination, surely the people of Christ Church 
Parish, Williamsport, may. The story of their Zion is, indeed, 
like that of Israel, a record of fluctuating zeal and prosperity — 
as what human history is not ? — but as the day of small things 
and the struggle for existence have been left far behind, and 
have been forgotten, save as the hand of some chronicler of to- 
day shall turn back to the yellowed leaves of early records, so 
now, with humble thanksgiving to the Divine Head of the 
Church for all that He has wrought through the labors, 
prayers, anxieties and tears of His servants, the clergy and 
faithful laity, may His blessing continue to rest upon and make 
effective all that shall be planned and attempted in His name 
and in accordance with His will for the salvation of souls and 
the upbuilding of His Kingdom in and through Christ Church, 
Williamsport. With a heart full of gratitude that I have been 
privleged to share in this work for a time, and with sincerest 
love for the parish and people whose story I have so inade- 
quately rehearsed, I lay down my pen. 



i55 



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NOV 19 1910 



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